FRANKLIN — The Franklin Mardi Gras parade started at 1 p.m., and by 1:01 p.m., the fun was in full force.

“The kids have fun and it’s safe,” Brittney Trosclair of Franklin said of the parade.

“It’s gonna be fun,” Gracelynn Freeman of Charenton, 4, said. “I’m gonna catch some beads and stuffed animals.”

“Yep, it’s gonna be fun,” echoed Bryden Johnson, 4, of Franklin. “I want to catch some toys and beads. A lot.”

Trisha Guilliot of New Iberia brought her daughter, Skylar Savoie, 6, to her first Mardi Gras parade.

“The last two years it was cold, and before that she wasn’t old enough,” Trisha Guilliot said. “I had to show her on the way down here what a parade looks like. She didn’t know.”

“I’ve never been here and they’re going to throw me beads and candy and toys!” Skylar Savoie said.

Beads were a popular desire of many children along the parade route.

“I want to catch some beads,” said Kinsley Picard of Charenton, 6.

“I want beads and candy,”  said Kate Wilson, 8, of Erath.

“We came all the way from Erath to see my friend in the parade,” Nanette Talbot said.

One parade-goer was all about the sights.

“I love the colors of it,” said Olivia Sword, 9, of Franklin. “I love purple because purple’s my favorite color.”

“It’s usually a quiet parade,” said Franklin Police Department’s Officer Edwin Collins said.  

“It’s the closest one around,” Theresa Patingo of Charenton said of the Franklin parade. “It’s family-oriented. It’s nice and not as busy.”

“I’ve come to see my family,” Shari Savoie of New Iberia said.

“I came to have fun and be with my family members,” said Celeste Gauthier of Franklin. “It’s a great atmosphere.”