EUNICE, La. (KLFY) — Rain, sleet, hail or snow, Eunice said Mardi Gras was a go.

“There’s two things you don’t cancel, Christmas and Eunice Mardi Gras,” Andrew Miller of Eunice said.

Andrew and his wife Kylie Jo Miller said they run the Courir De Mardi Gras every year.

“It doesn’t matter what the weather is,” Kylie said. “I’m going to run.”

Darren D’Aubin of Eunice said the tradition is Catholic based, stemming from Carnival that was celebrated by wealthier people.

“They threw beads, had big, fancy parties before the 40 days of fasting of Lent,” D’Aubin said. “However, the poor workers on the farms and stuff couldn’t do that. They took rice sacks, tore them up, shredded them up and made costumes, so nobody could recognize who they were. They wanted to have some type of party as well.”

He said that is where the tradition of begging for gumbo ingredients originated from.

“If by chance a family didn’t want to donate or give something, they would dance in the front yard and distract them,” he said. “They would go around the back, and they would steal chickens. And that’s the beginning of the chicken run, so while they distracted the people in the front, the Mardi Gras’s would go in the back and chase the chicken and catch it to put in a gumbo.”

Even today, Eunice was chasing chickens.

Amy Marcantel of Eunice said all of these traditions are the reason she continues to participate every year.

“Just embracing our heritage,” Marcantel said. “I’ve done it for so many years. It’s addictive. It’s really addictive.”

Matthew Daville from Eunice said he hasn’t run in about 15 years, coming back this year with his wife Lauren, who is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“I remember getting pulled on the trash can lid behind a horse,” Matthew said. “And I was riding the trash can lid downtown on Second Street.”

Kate Lengyel of Texas said she came run Eunice Mardi Gras, “Because this is the best Mardi Gras there is.”

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