By Alyssa Riley
Four women dressed head to toe in purple, green, and gold – the colors of the Carnival celebration that many Americans are acquainted with and love dearly – held Mardi Gras flags behind their backs like proud capes and zoomed down the sidewalks of the busy street in their roller-skates, heading for the bars.
As an inaugural event, the businesses of Dickson Street hosted the Mardi Gras Bead Crawl.
From Feb. 26 to March 1 – also known as Fat Tuesday – local Dickson Street bars like Infusion, Bugsy’s, Ryleigh’s, Sideways, Club Rush, Pedal Pub, and The Piano Bar took place in the first annual Mardi Gras celebration, passing out beads to whoever purchased drinks.
The point of the beads, a staple in Mardi Gras parties around the country, is to have the most by the end of the four-day festival. At midnight on March 1 at The Piano Bar, the attendee with the most beads won a cash prize.
“Whoever has the most beads wins… maybe $200,” said Aaron Schauer, 40, the owner of The Piano Bar and one of the piano players in the Dueling Piano Show.
Locals were told to gather at The Piano Bar at 6 p.m., where the presenters of the four-day-long event, D’ark Events & Promotions, were stationed.
Not only was it the location for the weighing of the beads, but for other festivities like a Fat Tuesday Masquerade Ball, costume contest, crawfish boil, carnival concessions with Cajun food – something Fayetteville is quite deprived of, except for Café Rue Orleans and Cajun Kitchen – and live Cajun music.
Dickson Street stompers made their way to the well-known and wholly beloved piano bar, where two pianos and performers can always be found perched on the stage.
“I would say it’s been pretty crazy the past few nights,” said Schauer. “We’ll see as we get past the 10 o’clock hour; it was very busy this weekend.”
The bar was consumed by Mardi Gras colors, masks, beads, and other festive decorations strewn around to offer some resemblance to New Orleans or Shreveport, Louisiana, where many people visit to celebrate the exhilarating holiday.
A group of girls made their way to the stage after being called up by Schauer, dressed in creative Mardi Gras-themed clothes. They danced while the piano men played their requested tune. The event at the last-stop bar lasted until 2 a.m.; everyone was in the mood to celebrate and party on the final evening of the Bead Crawl
The bar also provided a special performance from Jumpsuit Jamey and Can’t Wait To Playboys.
Schauer told KNWA, “With the CDC kinda relaxing some of their guidelines and stuff, I feel people might think it’s safer to come out, and we think it is. So we’re hoping that people take advantage of that over the next few weeks.”
Although the event was scheduled to end with Fat Tuesday, the food trucks stationed outside of The Piano Bar continued serving crawfish and gumbo the next day, March 2. Jumpsuit Jamey performed again that night while the jamboree continued.
Schauer said, “Absolutely it’ll be a yearly thing, but we’ll see a little more people for St. Patty’s Day.”
For Fayetteville locals or college students who plan to be around for another year, mark your calendars for Mardi Gras Bead Crawl 2023. It is sure to be an annual event that should not be missed.