Start planning your perfect parade route, because the parade will take place on the weekends of June 22-23 and 29- 30, and the homes will be open for selfguided tours from 1-6 p.m. daily. The two-weekend event gives attendees the opportunity to view custom built and speculative homes in Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto parishes.

Lucky for us, there are multitudes of events going on in our area. We have Mardi Gras at our fingertips. It'd be silly not to take advantage. Thousands flock to Louisiana every year to take part. We, those rooted in the soil, should not look over the bounty that is Mardi Gras in our region.