Mardi Gras-themed voter event with parade to be held downtown Selma Friday night

The Community Engagement Corps of Foot Soldiers Park will be hosting a Voter Gras on Friday and are inviting everyone in Selma to “Join the Caravan of Love,” they say. 

The theme of the event has a traditional Mardi Gras feel to it, with the caravan line up beginning at Selma High School at 5 p.m. 

The event is not just a street festival downtown, it is a chance for unregistered voters to have access to register to vote. It is a chance for the Corps to educate citizens about voting rights, voter registration deadlines (like the fast approaching Aug. 11 deadline to register to vote in the municipal election on Aug. 26. They will also discuss the potential for voter restoration for felons. 

Although the line up and caravan begins the festive event, the actual street festival will begin at 6 p.m. in the Water Avenue area. After everyone dislodges from the “Caravan of love,” they will move toward 1018 Water Avenue, where the CEC and members of Foot Soldiers Park will begin the task of voter education, and community engagement about what the organization is completely about.

From 6-9 p.m. the street festival— the Voter Gras— will start on Water Avenue. Individuals will be able to enjoy free access to voter registration materials as well educative functions, live music, food, and a family friendly atmosphere. And, in keeping with the spirit of Mardi Gras, beads and candies will be thrown, with a lively Voter Gras float in the caravan and at the festival. The block will be blocked off for the time frame of the festival.

Citizens are invited to wear their Mardi Gras colors and masks to the festival and within the caravan also. If you are wanting to join the caravan that day, be at Selma High School’s parking lot by 5 p.m., and the caravan’s Voter Gras float will welcome individuals to “hop right on it,” and travel with the caravan to the downtown district, as they traverse throughout the different neighborhoods, on the way to the festival.