Carnival season comes to Vicksburg Feb. 7, when the 14th Downtown Vicksburg Mardi Gras parade rolls up Washington Street followed by the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation’s fourth annual Carnaval de Mardi Gras and Gumbo Cook-off at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center.

Although usually held the Saturday before Mardi Gras Day, this year’s events are going on a week in advance because of a conflicting holiday — Valentine’s Day — which is a major shopping day for the city merchants whose stores are on the parade route.

“We decided to have the parade a week ahead out of consideration for the downtown merchants and their business on the 14th,” Vicksburg Main Street executive director Kim Hopkins said.

The parade starts at 4 p.m. on Belmont Street and will continue north on Washington Street to Jackson Street, where it will disband. An estimated 4,200 people watched the 2014 parade, which had 33 entries.

So far, Hopkins said, 16 entries are set to roll “and we’re looking for more.”

Entry fee for the parade is $25 for non-profit groups and $50 for for-profit groups, she said. After Jan. 28, the fees increase to $50 for non-profit groups and $100 for for-profit. Entries will be accepted up to Feb. 2.

The Carnaval de Mardi Gras and Gumbo Cook-off follows the parade at 5 p.m. in front of the Southern Cultural Heritage Center auditorium.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation president Nancy Bell said. She said the foundation started the event to replace the annual Mardi Gras Ball, which began losing participants.

“We have 11 teams so far,” said Carnaval chairman Alaina O’Bannon. “We’re going to exceed what we had had last year. Last year, we had eight teams and we ran out of gumbo at the end of the night, and we don’t want to do that. We’re anticipating more people coming this year.”

She said more teams are expected to enter before the event.

“Most of the teams start registering the week before the event. That’s when they’re ready to commit. They’ve got everything together, and their team with enough members to help them do it,” she said.

The cook-off has an early registration deadline of Jan. 30, but O’Bannon said teams can enter up to the day of the cook-off,” she added. The early registration fee is $50. It increases to $60 after Jan. 30.

Gumbo recipes will be judged in two categories, seafood and non-seafood. Trophies will be presented for first, second and third place in each category, with the first place winners in each category also receiving $200 and free entry in next year’s competition. There will also be a people’s choice award and an award for best food display.

The teams will be along Crawford Street in front of the Southern Cultural Heritage Center auditorium.

“It will be like a big street party,” O’Bannon said. “People will be able to walk along the street and sample gumbo, and we’ll have music playing. Some of the people will have games next to their booths. We will have live music inside the auditorium with Legal Tender with DeAnna Nicole.”

Boy Scout Troop 102 from First Presbyterian Church, which will be selling funnel cakes during the Carnaval, she added.

Admission is $10 for adults, and includes all the gumbo they want to taste, and $5 for children. The child’s admission covers all the children’s activities but does not include food.

“Some kids like the gumbo, but we’ve found the younger kids don’t,” O’Bannon said. “We will have a children’s area with games and prizes, and a concessions area with things like pizza and hot dogs. The concessions will be available at a cost.”