by Luke Glaser

Some local restaurants and bars will be bringing out the beads and cuisine to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras week can leave some students from areas where the celebration is a major holiday missing home.

“Lexington lacks the tradition and history,” Phil Schulte, a sophomore forestry major from Mobile, Ala., said.

“There are no Mardi Gras societies here.”

But that won’t stop Schulte from celebrating.

“Come Fat Tuesday I will be wearing beads and ordering gumbo ya-ya from Bourbon n’ Toulouse,” Schulte said.

Bourbon n’ Toulouse, a local Cajun eatery, is rolling out the carpet for their biggest day of the year.

“It will be really busy right out of the gate.” said co-owner Will Pieratt, “Traditionally it’s the most lively party,”

The party starts at 6 p.m. with a live crawfish boil using crawfish caught fresh in Louisiana on Tuesday morning and flown to Lexington. Bourbon n’ Toulouse will serve the traditional King Cake all day and will have several drink specials.

Guests can cap it off with live music from the Tallboys and alligator etouffe (made with real gator).

In an e-mail to the Kernel, Bourbon n’ Toulouse co-owner Kevin Heathcoat said customers are allowed to take their food to the Chevy Chase Inn or The Beer Trappe, and the party will incorporate the entire Chevy Chase business area.

“Buddy’s Bar and Grill will be doing their own crawfish boil as well as running cajun food and drink specials all night,” Heathcoat said. “Charlie Brown’s will have cajun food specials as will the Lexington Seafood Co., and The Beer Trappe will be serving various New Orleans beers. The Chevy Chase Inn will be serving traditional Hurricane’s with commemorative glass as well as hosting a great night of music.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Pieratt said. “If you want to do it right, you come here.”

Two Keys Tavern will celebrate Fat Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

“We’re going to have goldfish racing, a DJ onstage, $2 wells, $2 drafts and $4 SoCo & lime,” manager Nick Carreiro said, referring to the popular drink that originated in New Orleans.

Two Keys will also be handing out the traditional Mardi Gras beads and masks.

“We expect it to be a good night here,” Carreiro said. “It usually is.”

Students under 21, or those hampered by mid-terms, will have plenty of other options to celebrate.

Mardi Gras has its roots in religion as a period of festivity before the season of Lent, and many on-campus groups are taking advantage of the opportunity.

The Newman Center will be offering beignets and coffee in the Café du Monde style from 7 to 10 a.m.

“We’ve done a Mardi Gras event every year for the last 25 years.” Newman Center Music Director Mary Weber Bane said.

Let the good times roll, Bane said.

“Laissez les bons temps rouler.”