With Coronavirus cases in the area spiking, St Charles Parish, after months of debate, came to the decision to cancel Mardi Gras celebrations. More specifically, the Krewe of Des Allemands and the Krewe of Lul. 

Mitzi Petit, chair of the Krewe of Des Allemands, spoke with Parish President Matthew Jewel, a number of weeks before the cancellations were announced. Jewel tried to fight for the parades’ presence this year, but infection rates increased after the holidays, and forced him to make the call.

Despite the Krewe of Des Allemands predicting cancellations as a likely outcome, Petit was disappointed when this long-fought battle was lost. The Krewe of Lul, captained by a number of people, including Debbie Dufresne Vial, was also victim to the necessary COVID-19 precautions. “It’s already impacted us as is, but it will continue to impact us more in the future,” said Vial. “Once we got through the holiday season and saw the numbers spiking, we knew that we weren’t gonna be able to parade.” Both Krewes hope to ride in Mardi Gras 2022.