A venue known for scaring the holy hell out of thousands of Tucsonans each Halloween has plans for one of the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations of the season this weekend.

Known as the Slaughterhouse to fright-seekers, the old Farmer John Meats plant at 1102 W. Grant Road will play host to a free, all-day Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, Feb. 22.

The event, to be held in the grass of the plant’s massive courtyard, will have a Bourbon Street setup where beads can be tossed from mock balconies and Mardi Gras floats that will circle the festivities throughout the day.

There will be a marketplace where visitors can buy New Orleans essentials, like Cafe du Monde coffee and pralines, and several bar areas, including one that will focus specifically on Sazerac specialty drinks.

Crawfish will be on the menu, as will jambalaya. Grammy nominated Cajun musician Yvette Landry is being flown in to perform.

“We have a lot going on,” said Sierra Sutton, general manager of the Slaughterhouse and coordinator of the Mardi Gras festival.

“We are trying to do it the right way.”

The event is a long time coming for Sierra Sutton and her family, who have been running the Halloween horror experience known as the Slaughterhouse at the Farmer John plant since 2010.

Sierra’s father, Bobby Sutton has lived in the Tucson area for the last 30 years, but he was born in Monroe, Louisiana, and raised in the New Orleans area and in Breaux Bridge, a small town of about 8,000 people, just east of Lafayette, Louisiana.

“I went to high school in Breaux Bridge,” Bobby Sutton said. “It’s known as the crawfish capital of the world.”

For Bobby Sutton, Mardi Gras was just a part of life growing up.

“It was always exciting, a three- to four-week party,” he said. “Everyone looked forward to it.”

As a kid, Bobby Sutton said his family didn’t travel into cities like New Orleans for Mardi Gras events.

“You rarely go into the city for Mardi Gras,” he said. “The crowds are shoulder-to-shoulder, hundreds of thousands of people. You get over that quick.”

They instead stuck to the small town Mardi Gras celebrations. One of his favorite memories as a boy was attending the parades with his cousins.

“We would catch beads,” he said. “The floats weren’t as elaborate. It was more laid-back. You had all of your family around you.”

Saturday’s celebration will be a mix of big city and small town revelry, Sierra Sutton said.

“We want to have the fun of Bourbon Street, but not the super craziness,” she said. “We want people to drink and have a good time, but we also want them to learn about the cultural side of Mardi Gras through the live music, the food.”

Sierra said they aren’t sure what to expect in their first year, but plan to have more Mardi Gras parties moving forward if the event is a success.

“We still have a big family back in Louisiana,” she said. “We hope this thing gets big enough that we can convince them to come here for Mardi Gras.”

Photos: Mardi Gras  

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Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at ggay@tucson.com or 573-4679.