Music blares in the sky, followed by a cascade of multi-colored beads. Screams asking for a great throw are added to the noise of tractor engines pulling floats and parties raging from the sidewalk. This is the scene, a Mardi Gras parade in full swing, where you would find Heather Babin, the girl who loves Mardi Gras. Babin, freshman from Thibodaux, has been going to Mardi Gras parades since she was two years old.

She has gone from New Orleans to Houma, attending the street-side festivities; enjoying the music, food, seeing friends from the past and the amounts of beads tossed into the crowds.

Recalling her earliest experiences of the holiday, Babin said she was a part of her elementary Mardi Gras parade in kindergarten.

Babin said she has been in love with the Mardi Gras season since early childhood. She preps herself by decorating her room with beads and other Mardi Gras gear. Whenever she gets into the mood, she’ll pop a Mardi Gras CD into her car CD-player and think of the fun she’ll have. So, what is the best part of Mardi Gras according to Babin?

Smiling, Babin said, “Everything.”

Babin loves the music during the parades, ranging from today’s upbeat singles to the unforgettable songs from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. She enjoys the high school marching bands, but her favorite ones are the bands that have choreography accompanied with their music.

Babin said being with friends and family also ups the appeal of a parade. Babin’s strategy to spend time with both gives her two looks at the parade.

She spends half the parade with her family, catching beads and having a blast.

After gathering her closest friends from high school, she travels down the parade route and catches the parade from the start.

There, Babin said she dances with the street performers and catches more beads to go with the others she caught.

“Big beads are the best ones. The ones with the parade name and year are great, too,” Babin said.

Babin said she doesn’t keep many beads. She keeps bracelets and beads she finds unique and hard to catch.

Those she doesn’t keep, she gives to her friends or donates them to lacking krewes. The beads range from plain and sullen to beads with no special plastic figure, symbol or words, to those with the plastic pieces.

The broken ones are collected and twisted into beads reborn.

Even the bags of small, completely plastic and easily broken wrist-beads are given away.

Babin leaves no bead left behind.

With the music, fun, beads and all of the great offerings of Mardi Gras put to the side, Babin mentioned what the worst part of the holiday was.

She said simply, “I hate it to end.