PHOTOS: Ottawa Street Gets The Bourbon Street Treatment

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This weekend Ottawa Street is hosting The Bourbon Street Experience, featuring three blocks of Mardi Gras themed shopping and entertainment.

Visitors to the street festival are able to enjoy cocktails and beers while perusing sidewalk sales and sampling food from shops and restaurants on the strip. They can also enjoy live music, street performers, and even artwork.

Michael Duke has been a painter for ten days, and an Ottawa Street resident for years. For this event he has his spray paint on canvas work on display, and is happy to be part of the festival.

“There’s always something going on here,” Duke says, listing his involvement with past events on Ottawa Street.

Rachel Gray works at Pop Hair Gallery, which recently relocated to Ottawa from Erie Street, and she went all out on her costume. She is also proud of the window display Pop put together for the weekend, which she calls a team effort between multiple staff members.

Most of the businesses along the closed-off three-block stretch of Ottawa have embraced the festival, decorating windows and storefronts in purple, green, and gold.

The event continues oday, with all ages welcome between 12pm and 4pm, and 19+ welcome between 5pm and 11pm.

Rachel Gray (left) and Kristen Binder showing off their Mardi Gras spirit.

The Bourbon Street Experience bartenders are really excited about bourbon.

Michael Duke’s cat Shiba was a hit with festival goers.

Michael Duke’s spray paint artwork.

T’Dye For Salon offering street-side services.