Lake Charles, Louisiana: Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu; things to do

Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu  

809 Kirby St., in Historic Central School, (337) 436-9588.  Tu-F 1-5pm.

Celebrating the history of the Mardi Gras festival, the six-room Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu has the largest Mardi Gras costume display in the world.  It is absolutely a must to visit if you aren’t in town for the big event.  Former classrooms are crammed with displays of more than 400 colorful costumes culled from the more than 70 krewes in South Louisiana, and each has a story.  Touching is permitted.  A Mardi Gras parade display includes a float that you can climb aboard and from which you can even throw a string of beads to someone below.  Decorating a King Cake is sometimes an activity option. 

greeters outside the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu
in Lake Charles, Louisiana

hallway inside the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu
in Lake Charles, Louisiana

feather headdress at the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu
in Lake Charles, Louisiana

costume at the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu
in Lake Charles, Louisiana

King Cake at the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu
in Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lake Charles Mardi Gras.

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images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers