GINA B. GOOD / PVT There were smiles all around at the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce table Saturday. Willie Bear, left, a chamber volunteer and Julia Lawrence, the events coordinator for the chamber greet everyone stopping by the event. Their colorful balloon bouquet was made by Dottie the Clown, aka Carol Grabner. Advertisement

Who says work can't be fun? Certainly no one from the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce who worked at the weekend's Mardi Gras celebration.

"Everything has been going well," said Julia Lawrence, who has been working for months soliciting vendors and entertainers for the chamber's event.

"We have 45 vendors and over 60 booths," she continued. "The parade was lots of fun and everybody seems to have smiles on their faces. We had a ton of the bikers through here and there are a lot of vendors from Las Vegas. They told me it cost them a lot less to come here than to set up in Vegas.

"We've had tremendous coverage; and speaking of the media, Mark Waite and the other judges had a tough time selecting winners judging the Cajun Cook-Off because all the food was all excellent," said Lawrence.

"We could see the judges table from here and I guess nobody told Mark he was only supposed to taste the food, because he ate it all."