Bourbon Street meets Bridge Street with Vail's CarniVail party, parade, celebration

Vail gets hit with a spicy taste of New-Orleans-style fun when CarniVail returns to town Feb. 19-21, 2012. Guests will enjoy Mardi Gras merriment and all the Cajun fixin's from a crawfish boil to the Fat Tuesday Parade and Bud Light Street Party, complete with plenty of beads.

CarniVail kicks off Sunday, Feb. 19 on Vail Mountain with the World's Highest Low-Country Crawfish Boil presented by Grand Marnier at Eagle's Nest from noon to 2:30 p.m. The annual crawfish boil will feature Cajun and Creole cuisine like crawfish etouffee, gumbo, king cake and specialty drinks from Grand Marnier. The celebration is also set to include live music from The Laughing Bones, plenty of complimentary Mardi Gras beads and expos from event sponsors like Muscle Milk and Rockstar.

The CarniVail celebration continues on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Vail Village with the legendary Fat Tuesday Parade and Bud Light Street Party. The Fat Tuesday Parade, traveling from East Meadow Drive near Vail Road to Seibert Circle in Vail Village, will get going promptly at 4 p.m. and will conclude with the official crowning of the CarniVail King and Queen and the announcement of the float competition winners. New Orleans-influenced jam-band Frogs Gone Fishin' will perform at Checkpoint Charlie immediately following the parade.

Registration is now open for parade floats, and those interested in participating can get the registration form at www.vail.com/carnivail or by contacting Kelly Paton at Highline Sports & Entertainment at 970-476-6797 x111. There is no cost to participate in the Fat Tuesday Parade. Prizes will be given to the top three floats at the 2012 Fat Tuesday Parade, with the first place float taking home $1,000 in cash and the second and third place floats taking home non-cash prizes.

In addition to the Crawfish Boil and Fat Tuesday Parade and Bud Light Street Party, guests can expect to find bar parties throughout Vail complete with lots of giveaways and fantastic drink specials.

For more information on CarniVail, including a complete schedule of events and parade registration information, visit www.vail.com/carnivail.

CarniVail is presented by Vail Mountain, Bud Light and Grand Marnier and is sponsored in part by Cadillac, SoBe Lifewater, Helly Hansen, Maui Jim, Vail Daily and KZYR-The Zephyr.

CarniVail Event Schedule

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012

12-2:30 p.m. World's Highest Low-Country Crawfish Boil presented by Grand Marnier at Eagle's Nest on Vail Mountain with live music from Laughing Bones

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012

3 p.m. Bud Light Street Party in Vail Village
Including the Fat Tuesday Parade at 4 p.m. followed by a FREE concert from Frogs Gone Fishin' at Checkpoint Charlie