Busch Gardens’ Mardi Gras celebration is back to offer a family-friendly way to let the good times roll. The amusement park will be open Fridays through Sundays (plus Presidents Day) through March 3, offering Mardi Gras–themed events, performances, and specialty foods.
“The Big Easy Meets Big Thrills” is the theme for this event. In all nine of the Williamsburg theme park’s themed villages, there will be entertainment such as lively jazz music. This is the third year the park offers the celebration.
New to the party this year is the Bourbon Street Brigade, a classic rock band that will perform tunes from artists like Cheryl Crow, Dolly Parton, and Michael Jackson.
Other entertainment includes the “fan favorite” Carnaval Imaginique acrobatics show and Mardi Street Party parade with ribbon dancers, stilt walkers, and jesters. There’s also a New Orleans–style jazz band, the Samba Jamboree of drumming jesters, and a family friendly park-wide scavenger hunt.
Of course, no Mardi Gras celebration is the same without food and drink to go with it. Eight locations in the park will offer themed entrees, appetizers, desserts, and beverages. Try the seafood gumbo, Cajun hushpuppies, and of course beignets. Adults can indulge in themed cocktails like hurricanes, king cake shots, and Big Easy mojitos.
Want to try a little of everything? The Busch Gardens’ Mardi Gras experience offers samplers of five or 10 sample items at kiosks throughout the park.
While there, guests can enjoy some of the year-round thrills the park offers, such as roller coasters and the kid-friendly Land of Dragons and Sesame Street Forest of Fun. Be aware that some rides, including InvadR, Tempesto, and Loch Ness Monster, are temporarily closed.
1 Busch Gardens Blvd., Williamsburg
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
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