By Matt Koper/ne news editor

On Fat Tuesday, Feb. 17, students and many campus organizations can have fun and enjoy themselves.

The NE drama department will put on its annual Mardi Gras Parade starting at 10:50 a.m. going throughout NE Campus.

The parade route will begin in parking lot D, then head around the chessboard and finally end by the library.

Julie Gale, drama associate professor and parade coordinator, is looking forward to the parade again this year, she said.

“We began the tradition last year when we performed The Taming of the Shrew because the production design is set in Carnival or Mardi Gras,” she said. “So we thought it’d be a lot of fun to have a Mardi Gras parade not only to promote the show but to have a fun student activity right before the performance.”

Since the parade just started last year, a lot of people were unsure, she said.

“Nobody knew what to think of it, but once they saw how much fun we were having, I heard a lot of people saying, ‘I can’t wait until the one next year,’” she said.

As a result of the success last year, “we decided to make this an annual tradition,” she said.

“We try to encourage as many offices to come and have a good time with it because that also helps them be very visible in a fun way,” she said. “So we try to make it a healthy combination of both. We’re really hoping we’ll have more student clubs this time.”

The combination of music and the parade starting on Fat Tuesday will be fun, she said.

“I think the minute you start hearing Mardi Gras music and hollering, everyone gets excited,” she said. “Especially since it is on Fat Tuesday, we’re hoping the spirit of Mardi Gras is already with a lot of people.”

To register an organization, club or department to participate in the parade, contact Julie Gale at julie.gale@tccd.edu before Feb. 10.