Downtown is going to be the place to be right up until kickoff of the 2018 Walk-On’s Independence Bowl! Duke and Temple will tussle on the field at Independence Stadium, but before the game, you’ll find the action is downtown. Here’s the list of I-Bowl fun! 
The Big Game Show will be 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23 at Municipal Auditorium, 705 Grand Ave.
Doors Open 5:15 p.m. – Show Begins 5:30 p.m.
Tickets – $5
Before the teams take to the gridiron on December 27, they will battle it out in the “Big Game Show.” Coaches and players from both teams will compete in an array of game show-style competitions, and the audience will have a chance to participate too!
The Citizens National Bank FCA Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. Dec. 24 at the Shreveport Convention Center, 400 Caddo St. Tickets to the the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ northwest Louisiana chapter event are $10 and include breakfast.
Rally on the Red starts on December 26 with a Pub Crawl at 5 p.m. those drinking should be 21 or older, however, some of the stops on the crawl are open to all ages. Signup will be located at the West end of the Red River District beginning at 4:30 PM on December 26th. IShuttle, LLC will be
Photo Courtesy the Shreveport Times
running crawlers around downtown. Several locations are on the Mardi Gras Preview Parade route so plan your crawling carefully! Each location will have enter to win prizes provided by Glazer Beer & Beverage. The more locations you visit, the more chances you have to win!
- Parish Taceaux, 708 Texas Street (all ages)
- Rhino Coffee, 624 Texas Street (all ages)
- Abby Singer’s Bistro, 617 Texas Street (all ages)
- Noble Savage Tavern, 417 Texas Street (21 and up)
- Fatty Arbuckle’s Pub, Red River District (21 and up)
- Artipsy, Red River District (21 and up)
- Nicky’s Mexican Restaurant, Red River District (all ages)
- Fully Stacked, Red River District (all ages)
- Proud Mary 360 Grill, Red River District (all ages)
- Frida’s Bar & Grill, 200 Travis Street (all ages)
- Stray Cat, 222 Travis Street (21 and up)
Photo courtesy The Shreveport Times
The same night as the Pub Crawl are the Mardi Gras Preview Parade and Pep Rally. The parade begins at 6 p.m. Dec. 26 at the Louisiana Boardwalk Outlets in Bossier City and travels across the Texas Street bridge- up Texas Street to Common Street and then back to the Red River District for 
the rally and concert. This year, the bowl promises more than 20 floats, 14 krewes, Shriner cars, the Twin City Knockers local roller derby team, Miss Teen Louisiana and Vicki’s Dancers. Temple and Duke’s marching bands will also be marching and the Grand Marshal is Chef John Folse, Louisiana’s famous Cajun and Creole cuisine chef!
The Block Party in the Red River District will begin as the parade is ending, around 8 p.m. Parish Country Line — a Louisiana country music cover band — will perform in the free concert.
See The Shreveport Times’ story on I-Bowl happenings.
