Economic scale of a community event : the Lafayette Mardi Gras

Small communities around the world are developing festivals and events as an adjunct to community development and economic prosperity. This article has three objectives. First, to explore the economic scale of the Lafayette Mardi Gras. Second, to discuss some other types of economic impacts that are relevant in determining the economic significance of the festival to the local community. Third, to discuss some wider costs and benefits that must be taken into account in assessing the overall impact of the Mardi Gras on the community. As will be seen, the economic significance of this event is not unrelated to community attitudes towards it, but the latter are often neglected in event assessment. The article thus devotes some discussion to the importance of the Mardi Gras in instilling a sense of pride and a sense of place to the resident community. A theme that emerges clearly from the discussion is the interrelationships between the economic and other types of effects of the Mardi Gras. After all, it is community attachment to the festival that gives rise to economic effects in the first place.