{"id":413899,"date":"2026-02-04T13:29:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T19:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/?post_type=event_listing&#038;p=413899"},"modified":"2026-02-18T01:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:00:08","slug":"let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade","status":"expired","type":"event_listing","link":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In Athens, the community celebrates Mardi Gras with a &#8220;Parade for a Purpose&#8221; on Fat Tuesday. Attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods for Community Table, a local food pantry. This year the parade will be Tuesday, Feb. 17, with festivities starting at 4:30 pm in Athens Square. In keeping with the canned goods theme, parade participants creatively decorate shopping carts instead of traditional parade floats. Here&#8217;s the line up of fun for the night:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>4:30 pm \u2014 Music on the Square <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5 pm \u2014 Kids Mask Making at City Hall<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5:30 pm \u2014 Judging of the Carts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>6:30 pm \u2014 Mardi Gras Parade Begins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/625637448_1688608429256951_4453602451008212591_n-820x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-413905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/625637448_1688608429256951_4453602451008212591_n-820x1024.jpg 820w, https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/625637448_1688608429256951_4453602451008212591_n-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/625637448_1688608429256951_4453602451008212591_n-768x959.jpg 768w, https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/625637448_1688608429256951_4453602451008212591_n.jpg 1162w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The first Mardi Gras parade in Athens, Alabama, took place in 2013. The event was originally organized by Gail Bergeron, a New Orleans native and retired Athens State University art professor. She challenged her sculpture students\u2014known as the &#8220;Art Heads&#8221;\u2014to create unique headpieces and masks to bring a taste of the Carnival tradition to North Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key Facts about the Athens Mardi Gras Parade:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The &#8220;Quirky&#8221; Tradition: Unlike the massive motorized floats seen in Mobile or New Orleans, the Athens parade is famous for its shopping cart floats. These are decorated by local businesses and non-profits and pushed through the streets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A &#8220;Parade with a Purpose&#8221;: The event is tied to a food drive. Participants fill their decorated shopping carts with canned goods, which are donated to the local food pantry Limestone County Churches Involved (LCCI) after the procession. LCCI is now named the Community Table<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Organizers: While it began as a university art project, it grew into a community-wide celebration partnered with the Athens Arts League.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":413906,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":""},"event_listing_category":[185,186],"event_listing_type":[172],"class_list":["post-413899","event_listing","type-event_listing","status-expired","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","event_listing_category-charity-causes","event_listing_category-community-culture","event_listing_type-festival-or-fair"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade - Front Porch Alabama Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Athens, Alabama, the community heads to the town square to celebrate Mardi Gras with a &quot;Parade for a Purpose&quot; on Fat Tuesday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade - Front Porch Alabama Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Athens, Alabama, the community heads to the town square to celebrate Mardi Gras with a &quot;Parade for a Purpose&quot; on Fat Tuesday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Front Porch Alabama Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T07:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"884\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"485\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/\",\"name\":\"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade - Front Porch Alabama Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-04T19:29:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-18T07:00:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"In Athens, Alabama, the community heads to the town square to celebrate Mardi Gras with a \\\"Parade for a Purpose\\\" on Fat Tuesday\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg\",\"width\":884,\"height\":485},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/event\\\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Front Porch Alabama Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Front Porch Alabama Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/FPA-Site-Icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/FPA-Site-Icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Front Porch Alabama Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontporchalabama.com\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade - Front Porch Alabama Magazine","description":"In Athens, Alabama, the community heads to the town square to celebrate Mardi Gras with a \"Parade for a Purpose\" on Fat Tuesday","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade - Front Porch Alabama Magazine","og_description":"In Athens, Alabama, the community heads to the town square to celebrate Mardi Gras with a \"Parade for a Purpose\" on Fat Tuesday","og_url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/","og_site_name":"Front Porch Alabama Magazine","article_modified_time":"2026-02-18T07:00:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":884,"height":485,"url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/","url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/","name":"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade - Front Porch Alabama Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-04T19:29:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T07:00:08+00:00","description":"In Athens, Alabama, the community heads to the town square to celebrate Mardi Gras with a \"Parade for a Purpose\" on Fat Tuesday","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg","width":884,"height":485},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/event\/let-the-good-cans-roll-mardi-gras-parade\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Let The Good Cans Roll\u2014Mardi Gras Parade"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/","name":"Front Porch Alabama Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Front Porch Alabama Magazine","url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/FPA-Site-Icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/FPA-Site-Icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Front Porch Alabama Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"event_listing_category":[{"value":185,"label":"Charity &amp; Causes"},{"value":186,"label":"Community &amp; Culture"}],"event_listing_type":[{"value":172,"label":"Festival or Fair"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/athens-mardi-gras.jpg",884,485,false],"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_listing\/413899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_listing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event_listing"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"event_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_listing_category?post=413899"},{"taxonomy":"event_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontporchalabama.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_listing_type?post=413899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}