Somerhalder to resume starring role in Mardi Paws Dog Parade

COVINGTON —Ian Somerhalder, the top dog at the unique Mardi Paws dog parade that takes place in St. Tammany Parish at the tail end of each Mardi Gras season, is returning to his hometown of Covington on March 1 to lead the pack at this event that benefits his nonprofit Ian Somerhalder Foundation.
This year the parade is moving about 10 miles north, from the town of Mandeville, where Somerhalder attended high school, to Covington, the town where he grew up.
An ardent animal lover, on his 32nd birthday in December 2010, Somerhalder launched the Ian Somerhalder Foundation with a goal of protecting animals and the environment.
For the past four years, proceeds from the Mardi Paws parade have benefitted both ISF and its emergency medical grant program and Scott’s Wish, which provides aid for patients with leukemia and life-threatening illnesses. The parade is a way for Somerhalder to promote causes that are important to him while also keeping a strong connection to his home state.
The last time his hectic schedule allowed him to attend the parade in person was in 2016, and there was a record turnout of participants and spectators that year.
He left Louisiana in 1997 to pursue an acting career that has landed him on screens both big and small. Though he gained celebrity for starring as Boone Carlyle in the first season of ABC’s addictive drama “Lost,” Somerhalder is perhaps best known for his starring role as Damon Salvatore on the CW’s “Vampire Diaries” during the series’ eight seasons.
Now Somerhalder is on the other side of the vampire battle in a new Netflix series called “V Wars,” in which he plays the lead role of Dr. Luther Swann, a human doctor who faces off against his now-bloodthirsty best friend as a mysterious and ancient disease turns people into vampires. The series premiered on Dec. 5, 2019.
Theme of this year’s Mardi Paws parade is “Beyond All Boundaries: Exploring Sea, Air & Space,” celebrating the limitless exploration both above and below Earth’s surface. Participants are encouraged by the foundation to dress as everything from mermaids to astronauts.
More details can soon be found at www.MardiPaws.com. There’s a $25 registration fee per dog, which must be in costume, and up to six humans can accompany each four-legged friend. Human escorts are encouraged to dress to suit the theme, too.
Spectators of both the human and canine variety are welcome at no charge.