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Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. (PROVIDED PHOTO)

From alligator fritters to zydeco superstars, New Orleans is coming to town.
   
The sixth annual Winnipeg Mardi Gras hits the Winnipeg Convention Centre this weekend — beads, beer, Louisiana big band and all.
   
"There’s nothing else like it in Winnipeg," says Winnipeg Mardi Gras gal Bernice Sharples. "It’s really an event that encompasses entertainment, food, sound, vendors and charities. People from 18 to 80 are there."
   
More than 30 performers will be roving through the crowd, along with oodles of vendors. And, of course, what would Mardi Gras be without a Flashers Walk?
   
"It’s really something that, if you’ve never gone, you’ve never experienced," Sharples says.
   
Winnipeg’s Mardi Gras aims to recreate the experience of the real thing — including an A-list of Louisiana big bands.
   
"You can go for the music; most people do," Sharples says, "and Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. is authentic. His dad was one of the founding fathers of zydeco and his brother’s in the band. He’s a master of the washboard and you’re really getting the true feel of the music. This is the family band, and that’s really the heart of Mardi Gras."
   
Dopsie Jr., born David Rubin, took over leading the family band after his father passed away. Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters mix traditional Cajun sounds with the blues and brass that comprise zydeco music. The instrumentation ranges from the washboard to accordion to fiddle, and samples from Cajun, Creole, Irish and German influences from 18th-century Louisiana. The result is utterly danceable, unruly roots.
   
"He’s actually back by popular demand," Sharples says. "Last year without him just wasn’t the same."
   
Dopsie takes to the stage Friday and Saturday at 9:30 p.m. for the first of two sets, but there’s plenty to see and do before the band goes on.
   
"Come for the food, music and dancing and, as a bonus, there are shops and vendors sprinkled throughout the Convention Centre," Sharples says. "There’s airbrushing, beads, boas, masks, a body painter, medieval jewellery and aerial dancers.
   
"There are even a tiger and a panda going through the crowd. It’s eye candy. You can stay all night and still have something new to look at."
   
There’s also a lot to eat, and it’s the best New Orleans has to offer, including made-to-order po’ boys (fried seafood baguettes), an oyster bar and gumbo.
   
"It’s not just nachos and chicken wings," Sharples says. "It’s authentic New Orleans cuisine. Oysters and February and Winnipeg — that doesn’t usually go together."
 

WINNIPEG MARDI GRAS
Feb. 17 & 18, 6 p.m.
Winnipeg Convention Centre
Feat. Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters