St. Martin Parish, LA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 26-6 uses expected attendance, not event type, as the trigger. A "mass meeting" is any gathering or prospective gathering of over 5,000 people, and the permit duty falls on the sponsor, owner, promoter or other person responsible for promoting or staging it. Mass meetings held in permanent structures dedicated to accommodating mass gatherings are outside the section. The application is due at least 90 days before the scheduled date.

Before a permit issues, all state and parish health laws on sanitation, bath facilities, food services and garbage disposal must be fully complied with, and ingress to and egress from the site must meet applicable state and parish laws. Certificates of state and parish agencies certifying compliance must be furnished to the Parish Council. The applicant publishes notice of the application in one edition of the official parish journal, and within 15 days afterward the Council conducts a public hearing to hear protests. An applicant whose event meets the standards is granted the permit, and the Council conveys any reason for refusal to the applicant in writing.

Section 26-6(f) requires a bond before issuance: between $5,000.00 and $100,000.00 from a surety company authorized to transact business in the state, guaranteeing compliance with the section and state law, the cost of cleaning up the site, and damages sustained by the parish and by any person. The Council sets the specific amount based on the potential size and magnitude of the event. With Council approval, and depending on the event, a cash deposit of $1,000.00 can replace the surety bond.

Two neighboring rules matter for large events. Section 26-7 makes it unlawful to retain glass containers on any right-of-way, street, sidewalk, alley, parking lot or public property in the area bounded on the north by Interstate 10, on the west by the Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee Road and on the east and south by the parish line, on the Sunday immediately preceding Mardi Gras Day. In the noise article, section 26-38 exempts public celebrations sponsored by governmental or quasi governmental organizations, which section 26-34 illustrates with Mardi Gras and the Crawfish Festival, and events operating within a variance issued by the Parish Council.