By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The Town of Port Royal will be celebrating Mardi Gras Lowcountry-style with the first Krew of Port Royal Mardi Gras parade beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.
The parade will start by the post office on Paris Avenue, will travel down to 11th Street, and will conclude at Shellring Aleworks for a family-friendly Mardi Gras after party.
“It just seemed like a fun thing to do,” Amber Hewitt, secretary for the Old Village Association, said about the event. “We have never done it before, and as far as we know there haven’t been any other events like it.”
At press time the parade lineup includes 47 walkers, 11 golf carts, three floats and a bunch of bikes, according to Hewitt.
The Battery Creek Marching Band will also be participating in the parade.
The Shellring after party will feature the Parris Island Marine Corps Band, delicious food such as jambalaya, crawfish boil, king cake, and hot dogs and hamburgers.
Paint and Paradise will be on site with masks for kids to paint and face painting will be available as well.
There will be no in-person registration for the parade, according to Hewitt. All who want to participate must register online by Friday night.
Hewitt said that the Old Village Association is hoping to turn this into an annual event.
The theme for the event is “C’est Si Bon” which translates to “So good,” said Hewitt, and she hopes that is how people will describe the event.
For more information about the event you can visit the Old Village Association’s Facebook page or email Nancy Plank at nplank51@aol.com.
Editor’s Note: Amber Hewitt is a freelance photographer who works with The Island News.
Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
