Louisiana's Other Side: a Budget and Family-friendly Alternative to New Orleans

Dressed in identical red, green and blue Mardi Gras-colored ballerina costumes, three little girls stood on tiptoe, each hoping to catch a throw from a Krewe of Highland float."I love beads!" they screamed, thrusting their arms into the air, fingers splayed wide for a catch. Royalty on the floats saw them and made a direct toss. The tallest caught it. "It isn't beads!" she said. "It's a hot dog!" — and popped it straight into her mouth.

A Family-friendly alternative to New Orleans

Welcome to Mardi Gras, Shreveport Bossier style, where stories about pre-Lenten madness get completely blown away.

Myth 1: Mardi Gras is not a PG event.

"Not so," said Chris Jay, public relations and social media manager for Shreveport-Bossier. "What most first-time visitors say is how surprised they are by the family-friendly parades. Each parade has alcohol-free zones and family areas, and many of them take place during the day. Lots of kids participate in our parades, and some even have dozens of floats dedicated to children."

Myth 2: Laissez les bon temps roulez! (Let the good times roll!) will really knock back a family''s budget.

Not in family-friendly budget conscious Shreveport-Bossier, where the average tab for a family of four for Mardi Gras weekend with two parades, lodging and food costs about $279.

Myth 3: All krewes are made up of high-rollers who shell out big bucks for beads, baubles, threads and krewe dues.

Not true by my observation. Parades like the Krewe of Highland take place in Highland, a less-affluent area, and the riders are mainly young people and African-Americans. Floats are shabbier than chic, and everyone from disabled youngsters in wheelchairs to tricksters on bicycles fall in for the fun. The Krewe of Aesclepius, composed of physicians and lawyers, presents a children's parade, the only one on Fat Tuesday, while Krewe of Barkus and Meoux is all about pets.

Located in the northwest corner of Louisiana, 20 miles east of Texas and 35 miles south of Arkansas, Louisiana's other side does it its own way. And there's much more to do than just attend parades.

At Sci-Port, Louisiana's science center, there are more than 290 science, math and space exhibits, science shows, eight interactive areas, an IMAX theater and the world's first open-access interactive laser planetarium. It's every parent's dream solution to kids' imponderable questions from "Why is the sky blue?" to "How can you sleep on a bed of nails?"

The answer to the latter is found in a particularly fascinating kid-oriented exhibit. My husband and I watched an 8-year-old plant himself on such a bed to see what would happen. He learned that the nails don't pierce the skin when the body weight is distributed evenly. That wouldn't be possible if a bed contained just one nail or even just a small amount. At an exhibit called Birthdays Skies, we saw a 5-year-old enter the date of her birth into a kiosk, then watch mesmerized as an over projection showed the constellations and her own sun sign on the night she was born.

Artspace at the West Edge is a gallery that literally gives kids a taste for art. One exhibit called Cakeland featured seven whimsical sculptures involving cake as well as a giant walk-in frosted cake made of cardboard, plywood and found objects that children were able to explore. Many exhibits have coordinated workshops for kids. Workshops designed to engage families in learning through the arts are offered Saturday afternoons.

At the Stage of Stars and Legends Museum inside the Municipal Auditorium it's possible to relive Elvis Presley's heyday. In 1954 he appeared live at the Municipal Auditorium, performing on KWKH radio's "Louisiana Hayride," a quintessential country music show. The catchphrase "Elvis has left the building" was coined by "Louisiana Hayride" producer Horace Logan to quiet screaming teens after his performance.

"That's the night that changed the 'Hayride' forever," a guide told us. "Until then, the audience consisted mostly of older people who liked country stars, not a guy in a pink suit playing the guitar and shaking it all around."

Black-and-white photographs in Elvis' dressing room picture him backstage entertaining other performers with an accordion instead of the guitar.

There's also good shopping here, and visitors still go home with change, thanks to the Louisiana Boardwalk, which has an eclectic mix of 70 major brand outlets, restaurants, movie houses, entertainment and even a carousel.

The food is good here, too. It's possible to travel back to America circa 1960s when the Fertitta family refused to give in to urban flight and saved their business by introducing a new twist on the New Orleans' famous muffuletta, shortened to "muffy."

Even the pickiest eater will open wide for sandwiches stuffed with lunch meat and cheese over the family's secret relish. For those with more sophisticated culinary tastes, a better choice might be their pizza.

At Julie Anne's Bakery and Cafe, everyone's favorite is King Cake, the pastry associated with Mardi Gras. Julie Anne's also serves sandwiches, salads and wraps, plus breakfast.

A weekend getaway to Louisiana's other side allows families to party hearty PG-style, help the kids discover answers to daunting scientific conundrums and find their inner artist, and outfit the entire family for a price that makes other destinations seem over the top.

WHEN YOU GO

Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center, 820 Clyde Fant Parkway, Shreveport; www.sciport.org.

Artspace at the West Edge, 710 Texas St., Shreveport; www.artspaceshreveport.com.

Stage of Stars and Legends Museum inside the Municipal Auditorium, 705 Elvis Presley Ave., Shreveport; end_of_the_skype_highlighting; www.louisianatravel.com.

Louisiana Boardwalk, 540 Boardwalk Blvd., Bossier City; www.louisianaboardwalk.com.

Fertitta's Delicatessen, 1124 Fairfield Ave., Shreveport; 318-424-5508; www.papafertitta.com.

Julie Anne's Bakery and Cafe, 825 Kings Highway, Shreveport; www.julieannesbaker.com.

-Sheila Sobell