Tourists and residents who attended the third annual Family Gras celebration in Jefferson Parish spent $6.3 million at the event, restaurants, hotels and local businesses – more than double last year’s amount, the Jefferson Convention and Visitors Bureau said last week.

The convention bureau met at the Hilton New Orleans Airport in Kenner on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the economic impact of the three-day event and future projects. The free event, which is an alternative to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, attracted 80,000 visitors whose spending included nearly $3 million in restaurants and nightclubs, $900,000 in hotels, more than $800,000 on shopping and more than $1.2 million on various forms of entertainment in the area.

“We see Jefferson as a complement to New Orleans,” said Violet Peters, president and chief executive of the convention bureau. “We’re taking the lead to let people know that Mardi Gras is a family event as well.”

Family Gras, which began in 2007 and is funded by corporate sponsors and the convention bureau, is separated into three parts from Friday to Sunday in February, including the carnival and the parade, the concerts and the costume element. In the spirit of the event, a woman at Tuesday’s luncheon sported a white and red costume that fanned out behind her like peacock feathers similar to those displayed in Mardi Gras, while other costumes reflected a Halloween theme.

Singer Tony Orlando, one of this year’s concert performers for Family Gras, called and spoke to guests at the luncheon. He said he never forgot how 11,000 people came together on the day he performed during the event.

“Anything that brings family together should be uplifted and respected,” Orlando said.

Research by the University of New Orleans found that 55 percent of attendees came with at least one person under the age of 18. And 65 percent of the out-of-town visitors this year traveled to Jefferson specifically for the Family Gras festivities, according to the university.

“This is phenomenal,” said Mildred Zorick-Congemi, the relocation director for 1^st Lake Properties Inc. and the wife of Louis Congemi, the Fourth District Councilman for Jefferson Parish, “You think of New Orleans as fun but adult oriented” and the Jefferson Convention and Visitors Bureau and members of the community “want to portray a family orientation.”

Events such as Family Gras have attracted tourists to Jefferson, and tourism has created thousands of jobs in the parish, having a multimillion dollar impact on New Orleans, Peters said. She is hoping to attract more tourists at next year’s Family Gras, which will be held Feb. 5-7.

“We need festivals, we need good times in this country,” Orlando said. “The dynamics go far beyond the booking of a famous name; it goes to the families of New Orleans.”