Mardi Gras on C-Street is returning to the Commercial Street Historic District on Feb. 18, with shopping, dining and celebrations happening all day to commemorate Carnival “New Orleans style.”
Although Springfield is not a U.S. hotspot for Mardi Gras celebrations like New Orleans and St. Louis, the Commercial Street Community Improvement District (CID) and the C-Street Merchants Association continue to build up the holiday in their neighborhood.
“When people think of Mardi Gras, they think of drinking and it’s only at night,” said Cindy Ussery, the owner of Cymphony’s vintage store on Commercial Street. “But if you come to C-Street, and it’s Mardi Gras, there’s so much more to do.”
From 10 a.m. to bar close, a number of C-Street shops and restaurants are celebrating Mardi Gras
On Feb. 15, Connie Rhoades Hinds, the director of the C-Street Merchants Association and board member of the street’s CID, was walking up and down Commercial Street, passing out Mardi Gras themed beads and necklaces, and compiling a list of the live music performances, food and drink specials and other promotions businesses will have going on for Mardi Gras on C-Street.
“I absolutely love people enjoying this street,” Hinds said. “…I love meeting with the merchants the following week after an event like this one and saying ‘How was it?’ and them saying ‘It was great, we had a great day.’”
At least 27 different businesses will be participating in the festivities, passing out limited edition C-Street logo necklaces with some offering discounts on their products or services or having special New Orleans-style dishes.
Some of the restaurants, bars and breweries participating, their Mardi Gras specials and Saturday hours, include:
- Van Gogh’s Eeterie (334 E. Commercial St., 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.) — Cajun-themed Dutch pancakes, $5 Hurricane cocktails, $5 Yuengling drafts.
- Moon City Pub (420 W. Commercial St., 2 p.m. to 12 a.m.) — Cajun pot roast po’ boy sliders, Painkiller cocktails, Live music by Averill Cates from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Ruthie’s on C-Street (504 E. Commercial St., 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.) — Cherry Pie Sazerac and Hurricane cocktails, karaoke, Creole shrimp and pasta.
- Big Momma’s (217 E. Commercial St., 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.) — Jambalaya
- Lindberg’s Tavern (318 W. Commercial St., 11 a.m. to midnight) — Special menu featuring gumbo, po’ boys, alligator bites and a crawfish boil, along with live New Orleans-style jazz music.
- Café Cusco (234 E. Commercial St., 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) — Chorizo and crawfish fried rice, drink specials.
- Queen City Soul Kitchen (1626 N. Boonville Ave., 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) — Gumbo
- White River Brewing Company (505 W. Commercial St., 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.) — Evening live music
Other businesses with various promotions, and their Saturday hours, include:
- The Coven Collective (214 E. Commercial St., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) — 30 minute express facials for $26.
- Footbridge Trading Company (320 E. Commercial St., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) — Bead scavenger hunt.
- Gypsy Girl and Sugar & Glow at The Wax Bar (225 E. Commercial St., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) — 10 percent off with Mardi Gras beads, $10 off spray tans.
- Chabom Teas + Spices (209 E. Commercial St., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) — Highlighting bananas foster tea and cajun and creole spices.
After years of planning, Mardi Gras on C-Street growing in popularity
While it’s difficult to gauge previous numbers of attendees and the economic impact Mardi Gras on C-Street has in the Commercial Street Historic District, Hinds said she has seen it become a bigger and better event over the years.
“If we're doing it again, you can bet it was successful,” she said.
The C-Street Merchants Association originally began having the conversation about holding a streetwide Mardi Gras celebration about a decade ago, according to Hinds, but it wasn’t until the late 2010s that they debuted it.
“There’s hardly a better place in the city to have a Mardi Gras celebration,” Hinds said.
Hinds said Mardi Gras is a great opportunity to promote C-Street as a linear district, meaning attendees can start on one side of the street and walk down in one direction and walk the other way on the other side of the street, all while stopping in many of the many participating businesses.
“You can start at 10 in the morning, shopping and [getting] coffee and getting beads…and hang out all the way to a bar close at 1 a.m.”
While the bars remain an integral part of the celebrations, Hinds and Ussery emphasized that, with everything else going on, it is a very kid-friendly event.
“When you meet the people who have put their blood, sweat and tears into renovating the buildings and following their dreams and operating these businesses, you can't help but want to do whatever you can just to see them be successful,” Hinds said.
As the event continues to grow, Hinds hopes they will one day be able to host a Mardi Gras parade.
