Institutions of the Bossier community came together this Mardi Gras season to connect the local military with the vibrant cultural celebration and spread the holiday spirit.

The Krewe of Gemini unveiled its new Military Float for their annual parade, with military personnel from Barksdale Air Force Base invited to roll with them. The invitation to participate in holiday festivities furthers northwest Louisiana’s own Mardi Gras spirit. 

Having been a tenant of Bossier’s quality of life for nearly four decades, Mardi Gras is an annual Louisiana tradition for this corner of the state, in large part due to the Krewe of Gemini. 

The ArkLaTex’s original parading Mardi Gras krewe was founded in 1989 to bring the spirit, pageantry, and celebration of Mardi Gras to the northwest Louisiana region. Created through a collaboration between the Bossier Chamber of Commerce and the City of Bossier City, it has since grown into a dynamic nonprofit organization fueled entirely by volunteers with a shared passion for celebration and service.

The Krewe’s new float grows that passion by spreading Mardi Gras to local military, ensuring they feel welcome and accepted by the community they serve. The float was created out of a desire to ensure that military personnel had an opportunity to participate in something uniquely Louisiana while they were stationed at Barksdale AFB. 

“Mardi Gras participation is a year-long opportunity, and that often conflicts with an Airman’s assignment. By inviting them to participate in the parade, we give a life-long memory of their time in Louisiana,” said Christina Howard, publicity chair for the Krewe of Gemini.

The float was sponsored by the Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) and furthers CIC’s commitment to the military as its innovation resource.

“Our sponsorship is affording Airmen the opportunity to ride in an authentic Mardi Gras parade, throw beads, participate in the Krewe’s festivities, and ultimately experience the rich culture of northwest Louisiana,” said Kevin Nolten, CIC president. “The CIC has a strong partnership with the miliary and we are excited to find new opportunities to strengthen that connection.”

Nolten, who is also a member of the Krewe, said the new float reflects his personal background of growing up in a military family.

“As a military brat, I can relate to the challenge of those who moved around the country; it is hard to establish a sense of connection with a community, so this is something near and dear to my heart,” said Nolten. “At the end of the day, I want each and every military member to take this away as a core memory of their time in Louisiana.”

Howard noted that the experiences had by military men and women were pure joy. They look forward to decorating the float with military artwork and inviting military community members to participate every year.

“Some said this was ‘level one fun’ and others commented that they had the ‘time of their life,’” she said. “Every rider experienced Mardi Gras for the first time. In the eyes of the Krewe, this was mission accomplished!”

Howard added that it all contributed to making this year’s parade a huge success overall.

“The weather threw us a wrench, but the community showed up in full force, and we had a jam-packed parade route,” she said. “You could feel the excitement and energy from the crowds, and our Krewe had a great time rolling and bringing our unique flavor of Mardi Gras to the area.”