Hillcrest Mardi Gras

First time celebrating Mardi Gras in Hillcrest. I expected the streets to be crazier with fun party people walking dancing skipping around the streets on University, Washington, 4^th — 6^th Ave… But it was fairly quiet. Then again we didn’t attend the actual event in front of Moe’s and Fiesta Cantina, That’s where the party was.
The event didn’t look so pack, we could see some folks dancing on stage, the lights and loud music but there weren’t that many people there. I bet they all went to downtown.
We did end up at Martinis on 4^th and that was fun. We did bump into people that came from the event and looks like they had fun with all their beads ;)
I live in Hillcrest I love that restaurants and bars always participate in the yearly events.

It sounded like it would be fun but there weren’t a lot of people. We didn’t really go in to be honest. Didn’t want to pay the $ 20/​$ 25 for general admission. The music was popping tho. We enjoyed from a distance. :-/

Again 5^th year and bad. Walked by VIP and so sad on hardly any food. No drinks really. Generak admission not worth 20 $nor 15 presale. Nothing here. Miss when Mo’s Universe really blew Mardi Gras out of the water. Beads, dancing, food and drinks all night.

I mean, it could be better. But this neighborhood is known for CityFest and PRIDE. There’s NO way it’ll ever compete with those. For it’s size and what you get, I’d give it 2 stars, but for the neighborhood, it gets and extra star.
Come on people, if you really want to Mardi Gras, make the trip to New Orleans, and mark it off your bucket list. Who knows, you might make it a yearly trip!

I collected 8 bead necklaces total. (5 with a shot mug, and 3 without.)
That was the only real upside to the Hillcrest Mardi Gras, the annual shenanigan-​fest that takes over University Ave between 1^st and 4^th.
The tickets are pricey ($ 20), but I was able to enter for free thanks to a kind gift from the Unilocal gods. (You know who you are, and I appreciate it!)
Once I made it past the velvet rope (and by «velvet rope», I mean «chain-​link fence»), I was greeted by the typical trappings of a low-​rent Mardi Gras. Naked people on stilts. Drag queens galore. Homeless dudes peeing in the gutter. Overpriced, mediocre-​quality booze in abundance…
In other words, a typical night in Hillcrest, but concentrated in a smaller area.
Don’t get me wrong — the event can be wicked fun with a little foresight. There’s plenty of hilarious people-​watching. I definitely recommend that you preparty before walking in here; trying to get a buzz going with $ 4 Bud Lights is a futile task indeed.
You’d think an event this big would have me babbling on and on about it, but no.
Will I come back next year? Of course. Despite its flaws, Mardi Gras just as much part of the community as the neon Hillcrest sign.

My assumption is that all the cool stuff happens between 6 and 8:30 at the Hillcrest Mardi Gras, because when I got there I was disappointed. For $ 20 you get about two blocks of street sectioned off with a DJ tent on one side and a stage at the other end. There are drinks being sold, but no food — i guess you have to go into the restaurants like Mos… People threw beads from a hydraulic lift and there were a couple people dressed up including one guy on stilts and another guy with white feathery wings /​outfit. But those were really all the highlights. I really wanted to see a lot more costumes and entertainment, but I made the most of it.
It was not a waste of my $ 20 because now i know never to go again :)