Crawfish, king cake, beignets, live music, face painting, yard games and even a photo booth filled the lawn outside the Ware Residential Commons at SMU Saturday afternoon for its annual Mardi Gras celebration: Krewe du Ware.

Despite low temperatures, approximately 400 people attended the annual event, which was started in 2015 as a way to bring the SMU community together to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Sophomore and Ware Commons President Hannah Hess was the event coordinator. Hess spoke about how special Krewe du Ware was to her because of how it brought everyone together.

“My favorite part is definitely just showing off the community that Ware has and how close everyone is and willing to help their commons,” Hess said. “People really step up during Krewe du Ware, and it really brings out the best in people.”

Resident Assistant and sophomore Rachel Doby was in charge of the photo booth. She and other members of Ware Commons were up at 9 a.m. setting up for the event. Doby has been involved in this event for two years and is one of the key components in making everything run smoothly.

“I’m a sophomore, so this is my second year going,” Doby said. “Both years I’ve been involved and definitely one of the main people trying to get everything together and get things organized.”

A significant part of the event was announcing this year’s Ware king and queen. Each floor had a nominee for king and queen. This year’s winners were both from the fourth floor. Carson Dudick was named the Queen of Ware and Joe Bjornsen was crowned the King of Ware.

“I feel honored to represent the best commons that throws the best party on this campus,” Bjornsen said.

Freshman and Ware Commons resident Lacey Slattery said she enjoyed Krewe du Ware. Lacey came to SMU second semester and was originally a little skeptical about whether she should attend.

“I need to experience the South and so I came to Krewe du Ware, got some crawfish and beignets,” Slattery said. “And I’m having the time of my life.”

Overall, the event was a success. The younger kids and some of the students were entertained by the face-painting. A man on a tricycle performed tricks with the audience. People threw pins for him to juggle. Other attendees were outside enjoying the live music and photo booth.

Ware Commons emphasizes a sense of community by trying to help all of its residents to get to know one another through hosting different events, including Ware Commons Octoberfest and voter registration.

“This event was so fun,” Slattery said. “I can’t wait to come back next year and many years to come.”