Shimmy & shake & swing those beads, the Bay Area ushers in Fat Tuesday with traditional French cuisine, costumes and parades. Mardi Gras is all about indulgence and throughout the Bay Area you can do it in family-friendly style with live music, parades and street festivals transforming various parts of the Bay Area into New Orleans’ famous Burbon Street. Here are your Big Easy par-tay destinations throughout the Bay Area.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Don’t wait until Fat Tuesday to get your Mardi Gras festivities started. Get ready for a great night out! Andre Thierry will capture your attention and serve up an unparalleled musical experience that captures your soul.

Saturday, February 11 Winter Nights Dance Parties, 7pm, The Kanbar Center is thrilled to bring Zydeco back indoors with multicultural flavors, movement, live music and fun Winter Nights series. Celebrate the Louisiana traditional music of Zydeco, melded with hip-hop, blues, jazz and rock.  Hard driving accordion and high energy, exciting rhythms bring another chance to dance off your winter blues. Get out on the dance floor and have some fun at the Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael.

Friday, February 17, 3rd on Third: Mardi Gras // Black History Tickets, 5pm, Come and enjoy a fun, free Mardi Gras celebration and the commemoration of Black History at the Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre. We will be featuring poetry, floats, live music, food and circus acts.

Saturday, February 25, 2017 Mardi Gras Second Line March, 2-6pm, march Second Line style - meandering our way through Washington Square park and NorthBeach, landing at Tupelo on Grant Ave., The North Star, North Beach, San Francisco.

Sat & Sun, February 25-26, special Mardi Gras themed Treasure Island Flea!

Tuesday, Feb 28 Mardi Gras Party Gras feat Troubleman FREE Fat Tuesday Party, 7pm, Celebrate Fat Tuesday with the best of NOLA Funk, Hip-Hop, Soul, & Rock, plus Creole Food Specials at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley.

Tuesday, Feb 28 Mardi Gras Parade, 5pm, Free parade starts at Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley near Biergarten featuring several fantastic local brass bands Brass Mafia, MJ's Brass Boppers, North Beach Brass Band, plus other guest musicians, Brick and Mortar Music Hall in San Francisco.

Tuesday, Feb 28 Carnaval San Francisco 2017 Season Kick-Off: Fat Tuesday, Don't be shy. Come out and meet your neighbors at the Annual Carnaval San Francisco Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Celebration at FOUR venues in the Mission District! Enjoy live samba drummers and dancers winding their way through the party, salsa, soca, cumbia, rumba so don’t miss out on the fun! Wear your costumes, masks & beads and join us in celebrating Fat Tuesday in true Carnaval San Francisco style!

Get a jumpstart to Fat Tuesday in the Fillmore with a Mardi Gras Celebration! Enjoy great music, creative costumes, good food and colorful beads, at this free Super Community concert in the Fillmore Center Plaza on Tuesday, February 28th. 

Mardi Gras, San Francisco Style opens with a free blues concert at 5 pm in the Fillmore Center Plaza, where Pat (Lady Guiltar) Wilder, is followed by a New Orleans style processional, led by The St. Gabriel Brass Band and  SumbaFunk!.  The festivities continue  with a masquerade ball at the West Bay Conference Center at 8 pm, where The West Coast Blues Society will perform some California style blues. Fat Tuesday in the Fillmore will again bring San Francisco’s historic Fillmore Music District to life with rhythm & blues, a colorful family friendly carnival atmosphere,  along with face painting, street artists and performers.

Following the outdoor festivities, the Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball will take place at the West Bay Conference Center, at 1290 Fillmore. The crown jewel of San Francisco's Fat Tuesday celebration will feature Alvon Johnson & Band and DJ, Mr. "C", spinning dance tunes, as guests enjoy an evening of New Orleans style cuisine, dancing to Zydeco and rhythm and blues, and plenty of partying.