Hold onto your beads, Georgia. Macon and Columbus ranked worst places for Mardi Gras

Purple, green and gold. Parades, king cakes and glitter.

We all know that no city does it better than New Orleans on Mardi Gras. NOLA truly is king on Fat Tuesday.

But which cities win the crown for “Flat Tuesday”? Spoiler alert: Columbus and Macon reign as Georgia’s contenders for that crown.

The study by Lawn Love looked at 200 cities by the number of Mardi Gras events, such as parades and festivals, as well as cajun food vendors and local costume/supplies stores.

Those factors were broken down into categories of entertainment, food, party supplies and community interest for the holiday.

After all the research was done, Columbus was ranked third worst and Macon wasn’t too far off and landed at seventh worst.

Specifically, Macon was found to have the fewest Mardi Gras-themed events and festivals, while Columbus had very little Mardi Gras entertainment and food vendors. Columbus was also ranked severely low because of its lack of party supplies and costumes.

It might be to plan a road trip if you’re local to Macon and Columbus. You won’t miss anything around these parts. Bummer.

Here’s the full list of cities you’ll want to avoid if you want to throw down for Mardi Gras:

1. Thornton, Colorodo

2. Surprise, Arizona

3. Columbus, Georgia

4. West Valley City, Utah

5. Chesapeake, Virginia

6. Anchorage, Alaska

7. Macon, Georgia

8. Olathe, Kansas

9. Peoria, Arizona

10. Kansas City, Kansas

However, if you are open to traveling for the holiday, here are the best places to celebrate Mardi Gras:

1. New Orleans, Louisiana (of course!)

2. New York, New York

3. Las Vegas, Nevada

4. Los Angeles, California

5. Houston, Texas

6. Miami, Florida

7. Chicago, Illinois

8. San Francisco, California

9. St. Louis, Missouri

10. San Diego, California

Small cities that were not included in the Lawn Love study due to their sizes, but are perfect for celebrating Fat Tuesday:

1. Biloxi, Mississippi

2. Galveston, Texas

3. Lafayette, Louisiana

4. Lake Charles, Louisiana

5. Pensacola, Florida

This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 3:18 PM.

Chelsea Madden

The Telegraph

Chelsea is a service journalism reporter who began working for McClatchy in 2022. She was born and raised in Middle Georgia and lives in Forsyth. She attended Wesleyan College for undergrad and a few years after that, went to SCAD for an MFA in writing. Outside of work, Chelsea likes to watch Netflix, read books in the thriller genre and chase her toddler around.