Northwest Arkansas Times ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times Emily Anderson, left, and Paige Miles shout to get beads thrown to them as Hunter Miles,
4, covers his ears from their screams as Doris Miles, back, and Candice Trilla watch Saturday during the Mardi Gras Parade of Fools along Dickson Street in Fayetteville. Local Mardi Gras organizers honored the “duchess of pearls” Saturday by hosting a procession and auction in her name. Each year, Fat Saturday Mardi Gras participants pay a visit to the Fayetteville City Hospital and Geriatric Center. This year’s hospital procession was renamed “the Parade of Pearls,” in memory of Suzanne Neal Ray, who died in late December. The former Mardi Gras Queen and festival organizer previously served as the head of nursing for the Fayetteville City Hospital. “She worked with us for a number of years and was a dear friend,” said Dixie Rhyne, a Fayetteville Mardi Gras organizer. Saturday’s Parade of Fools, which was a family friendly event, began on West Dickson Street late Saturday afternoon.
Participants, clad in elaborate costumes of purple, green and gold, braved freezing temperatures as they walked east along Dickson Street and then south on Block Avenue, until reaching the Fayetteville Square, where floats were judged.