©1994-2024 MARDI PAWS™ is a registered trademark and may not be used without permission.
31st Annual
Mardi Paws Parade
2025
DON'T MISS IT!​​​

Downtown Covington
Sunday, March 9, 2025​

Parade rolls at 2pm
Registration at 12:30pm

Get Ready to Play: Mardi Paws 2025 is Taking the Game to the Streets! 🎮 🐾

👾 Roll the Dice, Shuffle the Cards, and Lace Up those Sneakers! Mardi Paws is leveling up with our thrilling theme for 2025: "Mardi Paws Gets in the Game!" 🎲🏀

🕹️ Join us for a paw-some parade celebrating all things game-related – from classic board games to heart-pounding video games, and even the spirit of athletic competitions! 🚴‍♂️🃏

🎭 Unleash your inner gamer and let the good times roll down the streets with dazzling floats, colorful costumes, and a festive atmosphere that's sure to score a perfect 10! 🌟 🕺

🎉 Mark your calendars, grab your joystick, and save the date (Sunday, March 9, 2025) for a Mardi Paws experience like never before – where every step is a move in the game of fun! 🎊 🐶

👑 Let the games begin at Mardi Paws 2025 – Where the streets are our game board, and the parade is the ultimate play! 🎭 🎲

COST

Please join our KREWE to help Kids & K9s!

$25 donation for each participating Dog.
No limit on the number of people walking with dog.
Save Time, REGISTER ONLINE (debit/credit cards accepted)
Ask about Parade Sponsorships which include registration costs.

RULES

Escorts ARE NOT ALLOWED to throw Promotional Items for their Business, or advertise their business on floats, unless they are a SPONSOR of the parade. Walker/throw Sponsorships are just $150.  Please remember this is a charity fundraiser put on by volunteers trying to make a difference in their community!

Absolutely NO golf carts, rollerblading, skateboards, bicycles, or motorized floats of any kind are allowed! (they not only spook the dogs but have caused injury to other participants, both people and dogs)

PLEASE NO CHOCOLATE OR CANDY THROWS WHICH COULD HARM DOGS
​PLEASE NO SMALL RUBBER BOUNCY BALLS THAT DOGS CAN SWALLOW EASILY.

PARADE SCHEDULE:

  • 12:30 - 2 pm  Same-day Registration Begins at the Farmer's Market Area near Cov. PD
    Pre-Registered Dogs save time in line by picking up your packet that day at the Pre-Reg Dog Area!
  • 2:00 pm  Parade Rolls from START on N. Columbia near Covington Police Department through Downtown Covington and finishes near the Covington Trailhead on New Hampshire. See LOCATION page for details.
  • 12:00 - 5pm Parade Extravaganza at Covington Trailhead with food, music, sponsor fun and much more!

  • What to expect… If you arrive at the beginning of registration, around 12:30pm, you will have to wait, or at least secure your place in line until the parade starts to roll at 2pm.

    If you arrive at registration nearer to 2pm, you will still have about an hour and a half wait to start parading because of the people in front of you.

    The Bottom Line.... whenever you show up, please be prepared for at least an hour or two wait time- we suggest bringing some snacks, drinks, music, etc. They have a lot of shade in the Farmer's Market area right by line-up area, you can bring lawn chairs, coolers, etc. They will be safe until you return to that area.

    Be prepared with throws! Each year the number of parade watchers grows by leaps and bounds - please consider an extra cart for throws.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW!

  • Animals must be in costume or decorated in some way to participate.
  • Animals must be current on their vaccinations. You do not need to bring proof of vaccinations but by signing waiver on the registration form you are acknowledging that the animal/s are up to date on all shots.
  • Animals must not have vicious tendencies or need to be muzzled (remember this is a family event involving lots of children running around)
  • Animals must be on a leash and must not be "in season."
  • Escorts are encouraged to join in the theme with costumes and floats. Floats can be made out of wagons, yard carts, baby strollers, shopping carts, etc. Consider having Music on Board!
  • Don't forget to have PLENTY OF THROWS!
  • Escorts are deemed "Official Pooper Scoopers" (there will be plenty of bags available at registration and disposal locations for your animal's droppings)
  • There are water stations for your pup along the route - look for the signs - but you need to bring along some extra bottles of H2O for your dog on your float!
  • No displays of political, controversial or religious ideals are allowed.
  • To be considered for the Costume Contest, krewe members must costume with regards to the theme.

FAQS

DOG WATERING STATIONS
If you're walking with your dog in the parade, there are watering stations at the beginning, along the route (inside barricades) and near the end of the parade. They are marked by tinseled signs! We highly recommend that you bring a couple bottles of H20 with you as well. If you are watching the parade with your pup, Sponsor booths near the Covington Trailhead may have water bowls for dogs, but you need to be responsible for packing water and poop bags for your pup.

REVIEWING STAND
Don't miss the Fun or Colorful Commentary each year as the parade passes by the Reviewing Stand located near the Covington Trailhead nearer to parade's end. All the details announced soon.

POLICE & EMERGENCY
Covington Police will be located along the route and easily found at intersections.

PORT-A-LETS
Port-a-lets are scattered out along the parade route including the registration area and parade end near the Covington Trailhead.

EMERGENCY VET SERVICES
Located near the Covington Trailhead.


PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTING TO SHOOT THE PARADE?? Personal Use ONLY!
Mardi Paws is unique in that the non-profits have to secure a special event permit from the City of Covington, and it is considered a private fundraising event. Photographers are welcome to shoot the parade, but for their own personal use only. Mardi Paws has event photographers (Official shirts with STAFF) that are responsible for the event and provide photos at no charge for everyone to have and share!

VENDORS WANTING TO SELL GOODS ALONG ROUTE, OR PEOPLE BRINGING DOGS OUT FOR ADOPTION, SALE OR TO GIVE AWAY? ALL are PROHIBITED!
Mardi Paws is unique in that the non-profits have to secure a special event permit from the City of Covington which allows them control during the event. It is a private fundraising event. If you wish to pay a fee and become an "Official Vendor" you must contact us before the parade. The police and parade marshals are provided a list of authorized vendors.

Didn't Mardi Paws parade on the Mandeville Lakefront in the past?
Yes, we paraded for almost 25 years on the lakefront until 2020 when circumstances forced us to find a new location, and we found the dream town of Covington.

Why did you move to Covington? 
The very limited parking available in heavily residential Old Mandeville, coupled with the fact the route was linear (not a loop), started affecting parade participation. But certainly not parade watchers.

When you parade in a location for almost 25 years, and you do your best to put on a good parade, it's safe to say the crowds of parade watchers keep getting bigger. We had tens of thousands of parade watchers each year, and we continually butted heads with the Mandeville Mayor who wanted us to keep extending our "walking" parade further and further to accomodate establishments and more parade watchers.

As it was, the parade participants had to park up to a half mile away from the parade start. Then they had to walk almost a mile until parade's end with dogs, kids, hauling wagons and throws, all in hot costumes. Once they reached the parade's end, they had to turn around and walk all the way back to the beginning, and then to their car. This wasn't only hard on the humans, but the pups too! We started losing participants, and we didn't think "lengthening" the route was the answer. And we were told our suggestion of making a "loop" route in Old Mandeville was impossible.


In 2019, we were given an ultimatum by Mandeville Mayor Villere to either lengthen our route to what he wanted or he would not allow our parade permit to go in front of the city council. With the future of our parade at stake, because without participants you don't have a parade, we did not agree to lengthen our route and the Mayor did not allow our parade application to go before the council, which put us on the hunt for a new location.


Is Covington better for logistics and parking?
Yes, yes, and YES! Our parade is always held on the Sunday after Fat Tuesday and the Covington downtown area has lots and lots of parking on the weekend.


And with us able to accomodate a "loop" parade route, participants can park close to the beginning, and then finish very near where they parked. 

Why have two dog parades in the same area on the same weekend?
We've asked that same question. Mardi Paws has paraded on the Sunday after Fat Tuesday for almost 25 years. Very few participants, sponsors, or even the media, want to do events back to back on the same weekend.

The northshore is big enough to support another dog parade, but it continues to cause confusion when both parades within ten miles of each other are on the same weekend. Our non-profit asked the current Mandeville Mayor for his help to avoid a date causing confusion and competition to a group of volunteers trying to make a difference in their community helping people and pets, but they chose to stay on the same weekend.

Can a "rescue" dog participate in the parade?
Absolutely! We're not sure how that rumor started, but we have hundreds of "rescue" dogs participating in the parade each year. Our non-profit Scott's Wish dedicates countless hours and funds helping shelter animals find forever homes, we just don't have dogs up for adoption at the parade itself.


Why don't you have dogs up for adoption at the parade?
For the first 15 or so years of the parade, we allowed any animal rescue that wanted to participate and bring out animals for adoption to join in on our fundraiser for FREE, but as crowds grew to the tens of thousands, and a child was bitten by a dog up for adoption, we realized this setting was not fair to these dogs or conducive to them finding their forever homes.


Imagine yourself in a pen amidst these chaotic conditions where children are running around unattended, there's yelling, screaming, hats on heads, you name it, and then when you bite, you are blamed for it. On top of that, you've got people enjoying a little hair of the dog which could contribute to impulse adopting. We hope you can understand our position.

IT'S ONLY FITTING!

Our sought-after parade throws are POOPS! ​​​​​

Not the garden variety kind, but stress-relieving rubber, glitter, and gold poops! Not to mention the emoji poop plush or keychains!
We hope you'll join in the fun and create your own PRIZED throws to bring along!
After all... Our Poop Doesn't Stink!

So Thankful to our 2024 Presenting Parade Sponsor!

So Thankful to our 2024 Presenting Sponsor-Reviewing Stand!