Chase a Chicken

This is, in our estimation, one in a list of thirty marvelous places, flavors, events, and experiences that anyone who lives in—or loves—our part of the world should experience at least once in his or her lifetime.

“You’d be surprised how much faster a chicken can get under a barbed wire fence than a man,” said Barry Ancelet. The renowned Cajun folklorist has run Cajun Mardi Gras in almost every capacity over the years and described how hard it actually is to catch a chicken—especially when you’re wearing a three-foot-tall hat and a mask and you’ve had a number of beers.

But Ancelet explained that Acadiana’s most visible and famous Mardi Gras tradition is really an insider’s thing—when neighbors mask their identities and go from house to house to cajole and beg, trick and tease, caper and clown in gleeful anonymity. The goal: win from your hosts the raw materials of a good chicken and sausage gumbo.

That’s not to say you can’t join in. “Most runs I’ve been on tolerate spectators and even play with them,” said Ancelet. “Just be careful not to step into the middle of it. Be respectful, and bring lots of quarters. Because they’ll get something. Better a quarter than your Rolex.”

In Eunice, the Courir de Mardi Gras happens Mardi Gras Day. More than a thousand costumed riders take part. There’s a downtown festival with activities for all ages. Other events, including a Children’s Courir and traditional cochon de lait, take place the Sunday before Mardi Gras.