BEAUMONT, Texas — It's official now. Mardi Gras Southeast Texas will be held at Doggett Ford Park in 2025.
Mardi Gras officials announced Monday morning that they had reached a deal with Jefferson County to hold the celebration at Doggett Ford Park, according to a Monday afternoon news release.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The above video first aired on November 19, 2025.)
The festival is set to take place from Friday, February 28, 2025, through Sunday, March 2, 2025.
"We look forward to hosting a well-known and family-friendly event like Mardi Gras Southeast Texas here at our complex," OVG’s Claudio Oliveira, General Manager of Doggett Ford Park was quoted as saying in the news release. "It will be a wonderful three-day event as we Let the Good Times Roll in 2025!"
The 5-year contract between Mardi Gras and the city expired in September 2024, and both Mardi Gras Southeast Texas and the city had been pursuing talks to continue holding the festival in downtown Beaumont.
Mardi Gras Southeast Texas chose to exit the contract, Beaumont Director of Communications, Tracy Kennick told 12News in November.
The festival got its start in Port Arthur where it took over several blocks of Procter St in downtown in February 1993.
After 27 years of tossing beads in downtown Port Arthur, the organization announced, in April 2019, that it was looking for a new home. This came just a month after the final Mardi Gras parade rolled through the streets of Port Arthur.
The organization said at the time that it was losing too much money after experiencing low attendance at its original home.
Organizers first set their eyes on making a move to Port Neches.
"We've been very successful in Port Arthur, but over the last 10 years or so our receipts, our attendance, is starting to trend downward and our board has become very, very concerned with this trend," Tim Romero told 12News in 2019.
Days after some Port Neches residents raised concerns over crowds and parking the group announced it was no longer considering Port Neches.
A statement from organizers noted that…”due to irreconcilable differences Mardi Gras Southeast Texas has chosen to opt out of further discussions with the City of Port Neches.”
The Port Neches City Council, on April 18, 2019, voted against moving the festival there.
At about the same time, Beaumont mayor Becky Ames told 12News that she would soon speak to organizers about a move to the streets of Beaumont.
Beaumont City Council began discussing the move in mid-May and by August 2019 had voted 6 – 1 to bring Mardi Gras to the city, file stories said.
Council members approved a five-year agreement to host the festival.
Mardi Gras organizers agreed to give the city $3 for each admission ticket to help cover the city's expenses to host the event, according to file stories.
In exchange, the city agreed not charge for use of the Great Lawn, Jefferson Theater, Julie Rogers Theater, Civic Center and the downtown Beaumont Event Center, according to file stories.
The first Mardi Gras celebrations then kicked off in downtown Beaumont in February 2020.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.