By Marlisa Harding

mharding@americanpress.com

Southwest Louisiana residents are invited to keep the Mardi Gras spirit alive this season by participating in Visit Lake Charles’ 13th annual Mardi Gras Shoebox Float Contest. Despite the cancellation of most formal Mardi Gras celebrations like parades and balls, this year’s virtual float contest will allow children, individuals and organizations to continue festive traditions from the safety of cyberspace.

“With all of the Mardi Gras events and parades that are not going to happen this year, we thought it was really important to continue this tradition,” Kathryn Shea Duncan, media/public relations manager, said. “It’s fun and something to keep the spirit alive.”

To enter the contest, participants convert a standard shoebox into a miniature version of a parade float.

“But it doesn’t have to be a Mardi Gras float,” Duncan said. “It can be Louisiana wildlife, athletics or even Disney. It’s really a family-friendly activity that the whole family can enjoy.”

Duncan also suggested that schools and civic organizations could take this year’s competition to the next level by competing against one another for top honors.

Additionally, with this year’s entries being displayed online, it’s a great opportunity for young people to have increased creative exposure, she said.

“The cool thing about it going virtual will be that the schools won’t have to limit their classrooms to ‘the first prize only moves on.’ It’ll give kids an opportunity to submit whatever float ideas they come up with.”

This year’s competition is underway with the deadline for submission at noon on Feb. 3. Participants enter by uploading one photo of their float at www.visitlakecharles.org/shoebox.

The photos will then be posted to Visit Lake Charles’ Facebook page where votes will be tallied according to the number of “likes” they receive.

Voting will begin online on Feb. 4 and conclude at noon on Feb. 15.

A first-, second- and third-place winner will be selected. First- and second-place will be awarded a cash prize and first- through third-place winners will receive a king cake and a certificate.