Ways to Celebrate

Mardi Gras in Portland | Tuesday, Feb 21, 2023

This year, the Portland Mardi Gras Parade is returning to Mississippi Avenue. The annual event is hosted by the Mysti Krewe of Nimbus, a group formed in 2010 to bring the Louisiana Mardi Gras spirit to Portland. The Krewe is made up of former Louisiana residents and locals who love the food, music, and culture of Louisiana. This parade is widely accepted as one of the authentic New Orleans-style Mardi Gras parades outside of its home. Before you go and get your Fat Tuesday on, go here to...

GET YOUR ROOM

‍

Get your getup together

Think feathers, sequins, and big, bold colors. Yeah, you can go with the gold, purple, green traditional, or you can go as big and bright as you'd like! Whatever you wanna do, just go big, go bold, and dress however the hell you want! Need a starting outfit? Try heading over to Red Light Clothing Exchange on SE Hawthorne to get a baseline on your bright and shiny getup. Pick a purple suit, a gold lamé body suit, tutu skirt, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Hot glue some puff ball polka dots, throw some flowers in your hair, and dip everything you can in glitter!

Find out more about costumes

‍

Party at the Mardi Gras Ball | Feb 18

The Ball is an annual event created by the Mysti Krewe of Nimbus – Portland’s Louisiana style Mardi Gras Krewe. Their love of New Orleans Mardi Gras culture has led these Louisiana transplants to find a way to bring Mardi Gras to Portland! What are the deets? Thank you for asking! It's at Wonder Ballroom, February 18, 7pm. You'll get to participate in an outrageously-costumed event with live New Orleans style music all night, Cajun food, and full bar. This year's theme is Cirque de Krewe!

Get tickets to the ball

‍

Catch beads at the Mardi Gras Parade | Feb 21

Get on board with this free, family-friendly community parade up and down Mississippi Ave with marching bands, collectable umbrella throws, those quintessential plastic thrown beads and many surprises – we’re never sure who will show up! Don your best costume once again to join the parade -- joining the second line has become a rite of passage in Portland, so you better get your walking and dancing shoes ready! Many venues along the way will have food and drink specials on parade day and things really get lively on Mardi Gras night after the parade. Mississippi Ave is the place to be on Mardi Gras evening!

Join the Mardi Gras Parade

‍

Eat yourself some king cake

According to the Mardi Gras traditions blog on PortlandMardiGras.com, "King cake is a round raised dough cake, much like a coffee cake. It’s covered with frosting, and the traditional Fat Tuesday colors of purple (justice), green (faith) and gold (power) sugar. Each cake contains a small plastic baby. Whoever gets the baby in their slice of cake gets to either buy the next cake and/or host the next Mardi Gras Party." They also give some hot tips on where to buy king cakes around Mardi Gras -- apparently New Seasons has a solid option!

Find a King Cake in Portland‍

‍

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT

Make a Mardi Gras plan to spend the night at Jupiter Hotel, and top off your party time with a night cap at Hey Love or Doug Fir Lounge, where you can unwind in the center of it all! Mardi Gras at Jupiter Hotel is unparalleled. All we need is YOU.

GET YOUR ROOM