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While Shrove Tuesday in the UK means Pancake Day, over in Louisiana it’s the day for dressing up in masks, feathers and beads, carnival parades and tucking into southern soul-food feasts. Sample a taste of the New Orleans action at these Mardi Gras shindigs in London.
Mardi Gras Brixton Day and Night Festival
Parade around Pop Brixton’s jumble of shipping containers at this day-to-night party. Join swing dance lessons and show off your moves to live ‘swamp soul’ and tasty cuts of funk from London’s only specialist New Orleans vinyl DJ. Pop Brixton. Tube: Brixton. Sat Feb 29. Free.
Mardi Gras at Peckham Springs
The railway arch bar will be decked out in beads and balloons for this Louisiana hoedown. Arrive between 4pm and 6pm to nab a free Southern Hurricane cocktail. Slosh it back dancing to DJs and a brass band and tucking into po’boy sandwiches. Peckham Springs. Peckham Rye Overground. Sat Feb 29. Free.
Bayou’s Mardi Gras Crawfish Boil
Mardi Gras doesn’t mean ‘fat Tuesday’ for nothing. In true New Orleans style, this Southern soul food joint will be cooking up a huge feast of cajun chicken gumbo, chargrilled oysters and cornbread with a classic crawfish boil. Bayou Bar. Tube: Tooting Broadway. Sun Mar 29. £27.50.
Find more brilliant things to do this month with our February guide.
Wanna keep partying New Orleans style? Try London’s best night clubs.
Images: Pop Brixton Mardi Gras, Photograph: Pop Brixton; Bayou’s Mardi Gras Crawfish Boil, Photograph: Pippa Kent; Mardi Gras at Peckham Springs, Photograph: Peckham Springs.