Mardi Gras Business is Booming

What started as a small aisle of cajun gifts has turned into Mardi Gras madness at Tubbs Hardware. Sarah Tubbs tells KTAL "When everybody started asking about Mardi Gras... Where do I get this? Where do I get that... we were like... why not... We have everything else. Lets just add a little bit of Mardi gras to our store." The aisles are stocked with beads and throws, plus you can get five types of king cakes year round. "And it does really well for us." Tubbs said, "Its something for our community to get involved with." More and more local businesses are cashing in on the Mardi Gras season and with good reason. In a recent survey the Bureau of Convention and Tourism estimated that more than 400 thousand people traveled to Shreveport-Bossier just for Mardi Gras and that number is growing. Brandy Evans from the Shreveport Convention and Tourism Bureau, "We are at an all time high for the number of hotel rooms that weve sold." The Krewe of Centaur and the Krewe of Gemini are the two largest local parades and this year during those weekends hotels were at least 90 percent booked. Evans estimated they leave behind about 8 million in direct economic impact and about 14 million indirect economic impact. Businesses like Tubbs Hardware say it is not just about the money. Its all about letting the good times roll. Tubbs said, "I love putting the big hats on and the beads and the stickers. Just seeing the kids come in here and get so excited about stuff like that... and eating lots of king cake."