Listen and read-along with this fun poem titled, Counting Mardi Gras by, Candace Marley Conner

Listen! 

First the boom, boom.

Then the clip, clop.

Do you hear what’s coming next?

TEN band members bang on drums and blow their horns.

NINE horses ride in formation. 

Clip-clop-clip.

EIGHT floats rain down treasures. 

Drip-drop-drip.

SEVEN doubloons sparkle like pirate gold. 

Clink-clonk-clink.

SIX maskers throw us rainbows of beads. 

Plink-plonk-plink.

FIVE dancing police officers keep us safe. 

Ftweet-tweet-fftweet.

FOUR MoonPies are a marshmallow-y treat!

THREE batons on fire pinwheel like stars.

TWO dragons zigzag down streets,

and ONE honking firetruck means the parade’s all done

Mardi Gras is so much fun!

Did You Know?

Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” and is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season that leads to Easter. 

Mardi Gras was first celebrated in America in 1703 in Mobile, Alabama. New Orleans is more well-known for partying, but the first Mardi Gras parades took place in the streets of Mobile fifteen years before New Orleans became a city, and has become a family-friendly tradition!

In addition to the parades and fun throws, people celebrate by eating king cake, a yummy sweet bread in the shape of a hollow oval, sprinkled with green, gold, and purple sugar. They have a small plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever finds the baby is king for the day and has to bring a king cake to the next party.

Try These Fun Mardi Gras Projects

1. Make your own beads with dried macaroni
2. Make a personal float with a cardboard box and throw your own at-home parade
3. Design handprint masks, or use the template below 

About the Author

Candice Marley Conner’s favorite flavor of MoonPie is chocolate. She’s the kidlit haint at a haunted indie bookshop and a Local Liaison for SCBWI. Her picture books, Sassafras and her Teeny Tiny Tail and Chompsey Chomps Books, are forthcoming from MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing, and her debut YA, The Existence of Bea Pearl, releases in 2021 with Owl Hollow Press. You can also find her poetry and short stories in Highlights Hello and Babybug Magazine, and in collections such as Cabinet of Curiosities, Mardi Gras Pieces, Under the Full Moon’s Light, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. She loves connecting with other readers and writers, so visit her website at www.candicemarleyconner.com.