30 years of booze, boobs and beads in Soulard

Dusk falls in the city. Temperatures have dropped severely, but the party rages on.

Half-empty cups and beer bottles litter the streets of Soulard, but the people of St. Louis pay no mind. The pavement is sticky with drying alcohol under fellow partiers' stumbling feet in their not-so-sober attempt to catch beads or dance to the loud music that blares from the make-shift stage.

Despite harsh winds and freezing temperatures, excited people flood Soulard, looking to make the most of their Mardi Gras celebration.

The Mardi Gras festival on Soulard Blvd. in St. Louis City began 30 years ago on Russell Blvd. It was a cold, boring winter, and a few buddies were in need of a party to lift their spirits.

"It started with five guys who decided to have a party," Mack Bradley, affiliate of Apogee Public Affairs and Public Relations Coordinator for Mardi Gras Inc., said. "They each invited 50 friends, and put in $250. Mardi Gras was approaching, so they decided to give their party a Mardi Gras theme."

The original party took place at what is now Johnny's Restaurant and Bar. 30 years ago, it was Hilary's, a bar that was owned by one of the original five friends, Hilary Clements.

Out of the five St. Louisans that started the annual celebration, only one, Bob Brinkman, lives today. According to a St. Louis Beacon article, Brinkman recalls marching with other party-goers up Russell Blvd. from Hilary's and making their way to McGurk's Irish Pub the night of the first party.

"They were kicked out of McGurk's for being too loud," Bradley said. "But that march was the first ever Grand Parade. It's a tradition in Soulard every year, now."

Three decades later, the Mardi Gras festival in Soulard is now the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country.

"We live in a dense city with a lot of mixed cultures," Adam Willis, Meramec alumnus, 21, said. "A celebration like Mardi Gras is huge in St. Louis because of that."

The festival in Soulard is operated by Mardi Gras Inc. which was developed in 1999 when the festival became too big of a project, and an organization was needed to plan it.

"It takes almost an entire year to plan for this," Bradley said. "We don't just have a parade and one day of partying. We have events beginning as early as the first week of January."

This year, several new events were planned, including the Mardi Gras Snowman Softball Tournament on Jan. 25, the Family Winter Carnival on Jan. 31 and the Wheelin' and Dealin' Poker Ride, which took place on Jan. 31 as well.

"In St. Louis, Mardi Gras is comprised of 15 different events over seven different weeks," Bradley said. "We have a little something to offer for everybody."

But the day that most people show up for is February 21, to drink casually (or heavily), gather an obscene amount of beads and celebrate the New Orleans-originated tradition of Mardi Gras.

"I love it. I get to go down [to Soulard] with $30 worth of beads and come back with a camera full of tits," Anthony Otte, Meramec student, said with a laugh.

Willis agrees.

"I love the atmosphere and the costumes. You see people in a way you wouldn't normally see them," he said.

Although this is what makes Mardi Gras great, it also causes concern for safety. Mardi Gras Inc. has a few goals to meet for a fun-filled, yet safe, festival.

"We have two big goals for Mardi Gras, overall," Bradley said. "One; we want people to have a great time. Two; we want them to go home safely."

In order to insure the public's safety every year, Mardi Gras Inc. offers alternative transportation options, including shuttle busses and taxi cab stands on site at Soulard. The option to stay in any downtown hotels with a special hotel package offered is available as well.

"There's a lot of beer and Hurricanes flowing, and of course that's part of Mardi Gras, so naturally safety of the public is a valid concern," Bradley said.

And like every huge party, there are always downsides to the fun.

"A lot of times, the prices are too high for virtually anything down in Soulard, especially alcohol," Willis said. "Some bars had a cover charge of $20. That's crazy!" Willis said that nearly every bar was packed with people, and lines to get in wrapped around buildings.

"After awhile it just wasn't worth it. I just drank on the street instead," he said, smiling.

Weather was also a concern. Below-freezing temperatures could have kept the public from showing up, but there was certainly no sign of that.

The streets were packed with people bundled up in coats and hats, and with the occasional few who chose to wear outlandish attire instead. 22 degree weather seemed to be the last worry on the crowd's mind as they drank, sang, fell over, and won beads.

"It's hard to measure a great tradition," Bradley said. "But over the years, it's become a great tradition that sprung up here, unexpected."