JEFFERSON PARISH (WGNO) – It was a combination of good weather and an emphasis on a family-friendly Mardi Gras, Jefferson Parish officials believe, that brought hundreds of thousands of people to Metairie on Fat Tuesday.
“Mardi Gras Day in Jefferson Parish was phenomenal,” Jefferson Parish Councilwoman Jennifer Van Vrancken said. “It was sunny skies. The crowds were well-behaved, seven-deep all along the route, people really came out as a community to celebrate. And Argus, for its 50th anniversary, gave them all the more reason to do that.”
The president and CEO of Jefferson Convention and Visitors Bureau, Violet Peters, predicts the parish will benefit tremendously from visitor spending, as well as the local spending.
“It’s a double benefit for Jefferson Parish, as a region, when it comes to the economy and the boost that we get,” Peters said. “Those numbers, we won’t have in for a little bit, but I really think they’re going to be very strong for us.”
Peters says her team has worked hard to promote Mardi Gras in Jefferson parish as family-friendly, which, she believes, plays a big part in the number of people choosing to spend Mardi Gras in the parish.
“All of that marketing and the things that we do to get our community understanding how Mardi Gras works in Jefferson Parish and how much fun it is,” Peters said.
According to Van Vrancken, Mardi Gras in Jefferson Parish went off without a hitch with no crime-related incidents.
“We have a fully staffed Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office to make sure that we are safe, and so all of those things, I think, combine to be the thing that people sought out this year to be in Jefferson for Mardi Gras,” Van Vrancken said.