Show in the Sky - Mardi Gras Every Night at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas

Mardi Gras happens every night in Las Vegas at the Rio, which is one of the bigger hotels and casinos located off the Las Vegas Strip. Although you can walk there from The Strip it's a fairly long hike and will probably take between 30 minutes to an hour. There are better options. A Las Vegas Taxi will cost between $5 and $10. An even better option is to take one of the free shuttle buses from the Strip. They'll pick you up behind Harrah's and take you directly to the Rio.

The great thing about the Rio is that it's off the Strip so they had lots of room to work with. They use that space every night by celebrating Mardi Gras, no matter what time of year it is. The Show in the Sky Mardi Gras parade is free for everyone to enjoy and you can view it from the casino floor or from the 2nd floor balcony.

The Show in the Sky remains one of the best free shows in Las Vegas. The Rio puts it on every night because they want to get lots of people on their casino floor. You do not have to be gambling to enjoy the show. If you get their early enough, you can grab one of the seats by the slots right in front and have an incredible view.

For a fee of $12.95 you can actually become a part of the show. Just get there half an hour before showtime and they'll put you in costume and direct you on what to do. There are only 21 spots available on the various parade floats, so it is first-come first-served. 

Mardi Gras starts at 7pm every night and runs every hour through midnight. The show changes a little each time slot, so catch a few of them. On Monday through Wednesday the show has a latin flare for those of you in to that kind of music.

Some of the shows can be classified as burlesque, so you might not want to bring young children along. This ain't the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, after all.