CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Padre Island was full of beads, candy and lots of fun to celebrate the annual Barefoot Mardi Gras
The beach was lined with people dressed for the occasion and vehicles decorated for the parade.
Debbi Eaton Davis works at Dzignscapes by Robin, she spoke with 3NEWS and said, "It's a lot of work, we spent like weeks working on getting the decorations and everything together."
For more than a decade, Barefoot Mardi Gras has welcomed beachgoers to a colorful celebration on the water.
3NEWS spoke with Robin Marcoux, who is the owner of Dzignscapes by Robin; A local landscaping business on Padre Island. Her team helped her decorate a float to compete in the parade... which they won in the float category the last two years.
"It's not like I win, it's we all win, and it's the look on the people's faces when they see us coming because they know that we're going to show up and we show up real big." Marcoux said.
Davis said the float took the entire day on Friday to put together, this year going with a fitting garden gnome theme.
The parade is also the only advertising Marcoux does for her business, bringing her new customers. "As a matter of fact, I'm working on a design and installation right now. So, it really does work." Marcoux explained.
Kermit Stosberg has lived on Padre Island for about nine years, decorating his Jeep for the parade. He said the event has increased in popularity, bringing newcomers to the Island.
"It's grown quite a bit over the years. We went to some of the first ones back when it was just a couple of golf carts and some little girls twirling batons and that was all it was." Stosberg said.
Stosberg told 3NEWS it took his group about three hours on two separate days to decorate the car. He's competed in prior years and won.
"More and more people realize what it is and if you can bring your kids out here and, you know, throw candy and beads. It's just a wholesome environment for the families." Stosberg said.
The admission fee also goes towards supporting educational endeavors on the Island, like Seashore Learning Academy and the Texas Sealife Center. Parade participants happy to be involved and enjoy the party.
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