Mardi Gras is already in full swing at Bayou Bakery in Courthouse.
From now through mid-February, people can indulge in the bakery’s King Cake, as well as a King Cake-inspired daiquiri, and donuts that look like mini King Cakes.
Mardi Gras
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Bayou Bakery in Courthouse is once again going all out for Mardi Gras.
The New Orleans-themed eatery at 1515 N. Courthouse Road is hosting a Fat Tuesday “Bayou-Gras Mardi Pardi” starting at 6 p.m. tonight (Feb. 21)
No Mardi Gras Parade Today — Clarendon will not be hosting a Mardi Gras parade this year. What was formerly an annual tradition remains on hold, perhaps permanently. The last parade was held in 2018.
Retail Rents Rising on the Pike — “Arlington economic-development officials say they will assist where possible, but in many cases, small-business owners wishing to stay in the corridor will have to do the hunting on their own… The arrival of Amazon not far down the road in the Pentagon City area is just one factor that is impacting rents in the Columbia Pike corridor, once known as a low-cost alternative to Arlington’s Metro corridors.” [Sun Gazette]
Big Raise for Ballston Startup — “Federated Wireless, the leader in shared spectrum and CBRS technology, today announced that it has secured $58 million in Series D funding. An affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. led the round, with existing investors Allied Minds and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, also participating.” [Federated Wireless]
Library Spotlights Segregation History — “A new window display at Aurora Hills Library spotlights efforts of some local residents to promote education and literacy during a time of rigid racial segregation across Virginia. The display focuses on the Henry L. Holmes Library, which was founded by Arlington’s African-American community in 1940 and served as the only library resource for the community until the county’s library system was integrated in the late 1940s.” [Sun Gazette]
Unsurprisingly, Mardi Gras won’t be the same this year at Courthouse’s Bayou Bakery.
But that doesn’t mean that the decade-old, New Orleans-inspired eatery is out of fresh ideas for Tuesday’s festivities.
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Mardi Gras is cancelled for Clarendon — again — and it seems increasingly likely that cancellation is permanent.
Elizabeth Crocker, executive director of the Clarendon Alliance, confirmed to ARLnow that there will be no Mardi Gras parade for Fat Tuesday (Feb. 25) this year.
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Clarendon residents will go without any sort of local Mardi Gras celebration this year, but there are still plenty of ways to mark Fat Tuesday around Arlington.
The Clarendon Alliance, which normally puts on an annual parade and ball to celebrate the impending start of Lent, says it has no plans for the annual event this year.
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Despite the cancellation of the Mardi Gras Ball and the Jester Jaunt, Clarendon let the good times roll and carried on with the annual Mardi Gras parade.
One resident told ARLnow.com that the parade seemed to have far fewer attendees than last year’s parade, despite last year’s rain storm.
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Update on 2/6/18: The Clarendon Alliance has issued an update to their plans. Citing “a large Mardi Gras ball with major sponsors” in Union Market and a Mardi Gras parade planned for the same time at Washington’s District Wharf development, the Mardi Gras Ball and the Jester Jaunt have been cancelled. The parade will still go on as scheduled.
“They’ve got marketing dollars and fireworks,” said Matt Hussman, The Clarendon Alliance’s executive director. “It’s a different market than it used to be. But I wish the Wharf and Union Market the best of luck [with their own Mardi Gras activities].”
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(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) Organizers are hoping for a Mardi Gras miracle, but it looks like tonight’s parade in Clarendon will be a soggy one.
The 18th annual Clarendon-Courthouse Mardi Gras Parade is slated to kick off at 7 p.m., making its way up Wilson Boulevard from N. Barton Street to N. Irving Street.