A light dusting of snow fell over downtown Lawrence just as Mike West and his raucous band of Mardi Gras revelers reached Free State Brewing Co.

By 1:30 p.m., the group had completed its four-block march down Massachusetts Street without Kansas weather spoiling the fun.

Around 200 people braved the chilly temperatures Tuesday afternoon to march in the eighth annual Mardi Gras parade, a tradition started by West and his family after relocating to Lawrence from New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

From left: Mike West, Jay Keim, Rayyan Kdemal and Dylan Bassett start playing in front of Aimee's Coffee House at 1025 Massachusetts St. It was the ninth year of the annual Mardi Gras parade in downtown Lawrence as more than 200 people dressed in bright colors and played music celebrating Fat Tuesday.

Sporting a beehive headdress, Lori Hanson, of Shawnee, helped kick off the ninth annual Mardi Gras parade in downtown Lawrence on Feb. 17, 2015.

The air outside Aimee’s Coffeehouse, 1025 Massachusetts St., hovered around 30 degrees as Kory Willis and his 7-year-old daughter, Rose Willis, waited for the parade to begin at noon.

Still, the sun was shining, and the Mardi Gras veterans weren’t complaining.

“There was one year where it was drizzling and kind of unpleasant,” said Willis, a banjo slung across his chest. “This is nothing.”

They’ve been marching in the parade since Rose was born, said Katie Conrad, Rose’s mom, as she handed her daughter a kazoo.

That first year, the parents wheeled a newborn Rose around in a stroller. One Mardi Gras, they decorated a wagon to look like a pirate ship, which remained in its festive form several months after the parade, much to Rose’s delight.

On Tuesday, though, the little princess walked side by side with her mom and dad. Decked out in pale-blue Cinderella dress and a masquerade mask, Rose kept warm in her pink parka and sparkly pink boots.

Her favorite part of Mardi Gras?

“I get to dress up,” she said.

West, wearing a purple wig and matching shawl, played his banjo and sang Mardi Gras tunes as he led the procession of costumed revelers down Massachusetts Street, stopping in businesses and picking up onlookers on the way.

Among the crowd was Jill Ensley, a Topeka native who marched in several Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans before moving back to Lawrence a few months ago.

Dressed in a pink corset, two layers of tights and several strands of beads, Ensley had planned to be a “Cajun Marie Antoinette” that day, but “the weather caused me to cover up,” she said.

“It’s just a celebration of life,” said Ensley, looking every bit the part in a towering pink wig complete with butterflies nestled in its curls. “Nobody’s upset on Mardi Gras.”

A few feet away, Nora Clark danced with Chewey the dog, moving his tiny paws along to the beat of the Brass Mob Brass Band. The two also dressed up for the occasion — Clark in her beads and mask, Chewey in his yellow, green and purple tinsel.

It was Clark’s first Mardi Gras parade without her 8-year-old granddaughter, Erika. The pair had walked together every year since 2011, until Erika and her parents relocated to California, leaving Chewey behind with Clark.

“We have her dog, so we’re marching for her,” Clark said, adding that she plans on sending pictures or bringing them with her when she visits the West Coast in a few months.

At just after 12:15 p.m., the parade made a stop at Ingredient restaurant, where Karen Bottary and Shonee Hough had just sat down to lunch.

Bottary had driven in from Leavenworth that day to visit to her high-school friend, and was surprised to see West and his band of merrymakers stroll past their table.

Hough, however, barely batted an eye. The Lawrence resident knew it was Fat Tuesday, but didn’t know anything about the Mardi Gras festivities.

“There’s always a parade in Lawrence,” she said as parade marchers trickled out the door. “It doesn’t take much here.”