Maleah Bourgeois
Entertainers wear intricately beaded traditional Mardi Gras costumes during LSU's Mardi Gras Mambo on Feb 25, 2025 on Tower Drive in Baton Rouge, La.
Campus Life brought food, beads and carnival fun at the Mardi Gras Mambo event held on Tower Drive.
The Mardi Gras Mambo on Tuesday, Feb. 25 featured an exclusive LSU themed float, where students had the opportunity to catch beads from Mike the Tiger. Students and faculty who attended could also hear live music from the Mardi Gras Indians, get their faces painted and enjoy some free food.
In and out of state students had the chance to receive a taste of Mardi Gras through the different types of New Orleans style dishes and desserts being served. Dishes including king cake, beignets and po-boys were just some of the many meals served.
Caitlyn Morrison, Campus Life’s manager of campus events, explained that this year’s Mardi Gras Mambo was a success, with a turnout of around three thousand students in attendance. She mentioned that a lot of time and planning went into the production of the event, and it was even planned a year in advance.
“We’ve kind of had this on our calendar for a long time,” Morrison began. “We do a lot of discussions about logistics. We have to set our budget and everything, and then figure out how we’re going to divide that out with all of our different vendors.”
Morrison believes this event is important for LSU to have, because it helps expose students to the culture of Mardi Gras and Louisiana as a whole, while also giving them a time to take a break from midterms and celebrate. Students from all over the world are now able to experience a Mardi Gras celebration right here on campus.
Jackie Boyd, a graduate assistant for Campus Life, was in charge of managing the floats at the Mardi Gras Mambo. Boyd is from Austin, Texas and has never experienced Mardi Gras officially, but she has worked at Mardi Gras Mambo for the past three years.
“This was my first taste of Mardi Gras, and I don’t want to say it’s a replacement, because I’ve never experienced Mardi Gras outside of Mardi Gras Mambo, but I’m satisfied.” Boyd said.
Boyd appreciates the cultural aspects of the event, including the Mardi Gras Indians and the Cajun food. She felt the experience was very fulfilling and enjoyed being able to throw beads off of the float, something she wouldn’t be able to experience without the Mardi Gras Mambo.
“There are a lot of people from out of state, or even out of the country that might not have the opportunity to go down to New Orleans or even downtown to Baton Rouge to experience that, so we really wanted to bring Mardi Gras to campus at LSU and do our own LSU version of Mardi Gras,” Morrison said.
Mardi Gras Mambo has been hosted annually by Campus Life since 2022, and it continues to succeed due to the long, drawn out preparation for the event. With its consistent growth each year, Mardi Gras Mambo remains a highlight of the campus calendar during carnival season.