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Where to celebrate Mardi Gras in Brooklyn

Where to celebrate Mardi Gras in Brooklyn
Photo by Elizabeth Graham

The good times are about to roll in Brooklyn!

Mardi Gras, the annual festival of parading, partying, and general debauchery is fast approaching. But you don’t have to bus it down to the bayou to celebrate. We have made it easy to find a place that feels like the Big Easy without leaving town, thanks to this comprehensive guide to all the Kings County festivities. So bust out your beads, and join the parade!

Brooklyn Bowl

Start your weekend off here with some kicked-up New Orleans tunes from the Stooges Brass Band on Feb. 13. Then on Fat Tuesday, come back and party it up with Butler, Bernstein, and the Hot 9, featuring the scorching sounds of New Orleans-born singer and pianist Henry Butler and trumpeter and bandleader Steven Bernstein. The show will also include special guests Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors, jazz singer Catherine Russell, and singer-songwriter Amy Helm.

Stooges Brass Band at Brooklyn Bowl [61 Wythe Ave. between N. 11th and N. 12th streets in Williamsburg, (718) 963–3369, www.brook‌lynbo‌wl.com]. Feb. 13 at 9 pm. $15. And Butler, Bernstein, and the Hot 9 on Feb. 17 at 8 pm. $15.

The Way Station

This Prospect Heights bar is throwing its fourth Mardi Gras Extravaganza this year, which will include a second line parade down Washington Avenue, plus live music, beads, and Abita beer specials. Tunes come courtesy of A Flying Dodo Society, the Nevermind Orchestra, and Gloria Isaiah.

The Way Station [683 Washington Ave. between St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place in Prospect Heights, (347) 627–4949, www.wayst‌ation‌bk.com]. Feb. 17 at 8 pm. Free.

Irondale Center

Another Crescent City celebration will take place at Irondale Center in Fort Greene, featuring a gumbo cook-off hosted by Matt Timms, the guy behind beloved amateur cooking contest series the Take Downs. The ticket price will also include beer and spirits, burlesque, and live music from Mona’s Hot Four Ragtime Band.

Irondale Center (85 South Oxford St. between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in Fort Greene, www.event‌brite.com/‌e/‌nyc-m‌ardi-‌gras-‌ticke‌ts-15‌14569‌4179). Feb. 17 from 6 pm–10 pm. $45 general, $100 VIP.

Heavy Woods

The Bushwick bar, the new home of New Orleans food purveyors Tchoup Shop, is hosting a five-day blowout for Mardi Gras, starting on Friday and running until Fat Tuesday. There will be a live feed of the festivities direct from Bourbon Street, and New Orleans native Steve Myers (of Mighty Fine, and formerly the Afghan Whigs) will spin tunes. There will also be food specials, of course, plus $3 Abita beers and other drink specials.

Heavy Woods [50 Wyckoff Ave. between Willoughby Avenue and Star Street in Bushwick, (929) 234–3500, www.heavy‌woods‌bar.com]. Feb. 13–Feb. 17. Free.

Reach reporter Matthew Perlman at (718) 260–8310. E-mail him at mperl‌man@c‌ngloc‌al.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewjperlman.
Oh boy: Nina Burns holds a catfish po’ boy from the Tchoup Shop, which is housed inside Bushwick’s Heavy Woods bar.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini