The Residence Hall Association (RHA) and Student Government Association have teamed up again to bring the streets of New Orleans to Georgia Southern University for their annual Mardi Gras Madness event.

The street fair will be held along Georgia Avenue, the street between Main Dining Commons and Centennial Place, to promote alcohol awareness.

“This event has something for everyone. There will be live music, lots of giveaways, philanthropy at work, over 20 activities and free food from our custom New Orleans menu,” Aubrey Trevathan, director of marketing of RHA, said.

The history of Mardi Gras can be traced all the way back to medieval Europe, but over the years, it has grown into a huge party full of parades, beads, food and alcohol. The tradition of celebrating it has now spread all over the country.

The annual event hosted on GSU’s campus has always been held to promote alcohol awareness.

“This year we’ve just decided to make it bigger than ever,” Trevathan said.

There will be a number of organizations there to participate in the festivities. Each organization will have a booth with various Mardi Gras-themed activities.

A few of the organizations that will be there are the National Residence Hall Honorary, Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, National Society of Black Engineers, Minority Advisement Program, Habitat for Humanity, Delta Phi Epsilon, Student Activities and others.

RHA and SGA want the students to get involved this year so they have raised the stakes by adding a Mardi Gras King and Queen. The titles are fair game to anyone; all students have to do is come out and really participate in the activities.

“It’s an opportunity for students to engage not only with their student leaders, but also learn and become more aware about the different resources available to them in regards to alcohol awareness and just enjoy the culture as well,” James Woodall, Senator At-Large in SGA, said.

All students are welcome to come and wear purple, green and gold tonight from 6-9 p.m.