PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Thousands of visitors will soon be back in downtown Port Arthur to "Let the Good Times Roll."
"We draw festival-goers from all over Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana," said Tim Romero, chair of the Southeast Texas Mardi Gras Board.
From parades to good eats, it's a celebration that doesn't disappoint.
Final preparation continues along Procter Street, but festival organizers say there's one thing they worry about—outside vendors.
"In looking at the vendors that are setting up outside of the gate, they're siphoning off funds that could be spent inside the gates with our vendors," Romero said.
Each vendor inside the gates has to pay a fee a little over $900.
They have to have insurance, hot water and restroom facilities.
Outside the gate, Romero says it's buy and beware.
"Inside the gates, if our patrons have an issue with any vendor, they have somebody they can talk to with Mardi Gras officials," Romero said.
A percentage of all profits made by registered vendors goes to the sponsoring organizations, benefiting the city of Port Arthur and the livelihood of Southeast Texas.
He says they are simply thinking about years to come and the future of the festival.
"If more and more vendors set up right outside the gate, and they aren't paying anything, they are just squeezing out profits for them; they're not giving back to the community," Romero said.