MEDIA ADVISORY:
12TH NIGHT TO KICK OFF MARDI GRAS SEASON
Mardi Gras board of directors expected to approve the production of the 44th Soulard Mardi Gras on first ballot
Immediate Release: January 5, 2023
January 6, the 12th Night after Christmas, will begin the 44th St. Louis Mardi Gras season in Historic Soulard. This year's Mardi Gras season will feature ten events over six weeks offering something for everyone.
It all begins with the 12th Night Celebration, where the Mardi Gras Inc. board of directors calls for a crucial vote on whether to produce another grand Soulard Mardi Gras. As part of their deliberations, the board receives petitions from the community, often in the form of a song, dance, poem, oratorical flourish or a humble toast to the season, generally accompanied by appropriately preposterous Mardi Gras attire.
After receiving these petitions, the board members cast their votes in what organizers anticipate will be a first-ballot landslide victory for Soulard Mardi Gras in 2023. After the vote, revelers and dignitaries will march throughout the Soulard neighborhood and raise the Mardi Gras flag to fly proudly over Soulard throughout the Mardi Gras season.
Schedule 06 January 2023
5:00 p.m. Doors open at the South Broadway Athletic Club, 2301 S 7th St
5:30 - Welcome from Mayor Tishaura Jones
5:35 - Board receives petitions
6:45 p.m. - Proclamation and Grand Procession through Soulard, starting at South Broadway Athletic Club
9:15 p.m. - Raising of Soulard Mardi Gras flag, 7th and Soulard Streets (flagpole, east side of 7th)
12th Night Tradition
In the Christian calendar, the twelfth day after Christmas is variously known as "Epiphany," "Twelfth Night" or "Kings Day." It is the day the Magi arrived in Bethlehem, and marks the end of the Christmas season. Until Fat Tuesday, the pre-Lenten Soulard Mardi Gras season will light up St. Louis with a full calendar of celebrations offering something for everyone.
Plan your perfect Mardi Gras at stlmardigras.org.
2023 Mardi Gras Calendar
January 6 Twelfth Night
January 14 Family Winter Carnival
January 21 Scavenger Hunt
February 4 Cajun Cook-Off
February 11 5K Run for your Beads
February 11-12 Taste of Soulard
February 12 Purina Pet Parade and Tito's Vodka Wiener Dog Derby
February 17 Mayor's Mardi Gras Ball
February 18 Bud Light Grand Parade
