Mardi Gras parades in Jefferson Parish this year will head east — instead of west — along Veterans Memorial Boulevard, returning to their traditional route after several years.

Six Mardi Gras parades are scheduled to roll in the Baton Rouge area this weekend. The best advice if you're going to one or all six: bundle up. Current weather forecasts indicate the temperature will be in the high 30s when the all-female Krewe of Artemis makes its way through downtown starting at 7 p.