The City of Alexandria has been awarded a Greener Grounds Grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) to support waste management at the upcoming Alex Winter Fête, scheduled for December 4-6, 2025. The grant totals $9,991.60 and is intended to enhance the festival’s current waste reduction plan.
Mayor Jacques Roy commented on the award: “We won the Outstanding City Award for Love the Boot in 2025. We are cleaning up our City and this ensures we give our attendees all the fun and festivities Alex Winter Fête offers while making for a safe, wholesome environment. You’ve seen our CleanAlex crews—from Mardi Gras to the Fetes— knock it out. This grant makes it even better and represents part of our active partnership with KLB, ours being a one-of-kind model started here in conjunction with our Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of Commerce.”
Susan Russell, Executive Director of KLB, described the purpose of the Greener Grounds initiative: “Louisiana is home to more than 400 festivals and events annually attended by locals and tourists who come together to celebrate the state’s vibrant offerings of food, music, history, and culture. With these events often comes a completely avoidable and solvable issue: litter. While we all love to laissez les bons temps rouler, we must ensure the waste inevitably created by outdoor events does not threaten our environment. Keeping event sites clean not only enhances the attendees’ experience, but also helps stop the detrimental cycle of mismanaged waste becoming litter that will clog storm drains or enter waterways – an issue that harms the state’s coastline, wildlife and water quality.”
The Greener Grounds Grant program is funded by the State of Louisiana and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. This year, 16 grants totaling over $105,300 were distributed to organizations including non-profits, municipalities, and parishes that host large-scale events.
Alexandria plans to use its grant funds to increase public education about recycling efforts during Alex Winter Fête and divert some festival waste from landfills.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful operates under the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and promotes responsibility for maintaining a clean environment across Louisiana through various programs focused on litter prevention, removal, beautification, recycling, waste reduction, and sustainability initiatives. More information can be found at KeepLouisianaBeautiful.org.
