Carnival begins Jan. 6 with parades and parties , and of course king cake is a centerpiece of those. King Cake Hub is wasting not a moment of this year's season by hosting a party starting the day before.

King Cake Hub is a business that gathers cakes from many different producers in one spot, a sugary showroom to shop for a wide variety in one place.

It’s back again this year at Zony Mash Beer Project (3940 Thalia St.), a brewery built in a converted vintage movie theater.

Its King Cake Monarch Pageant and Countdown to Carnival Party is held in the brewery taproom on Sunday, Jan. 5, from 3-6 p.m.

A limited selection of king cakes will be available to buy, perhaps also with the strong suggestion not to cut in until the next day. The idea is to help people get properly stocked to start the morning right.

"While we don't support the eating of king cake outside of the Carnival season, Twelfth Night is not a universally recognized holiday and, sadly, many king cake lovers will have to go to work," King Cake Hub owner Jennifer Samuels explained.

The Sunday party will have beer (including Zony Mash’s king cake stout), dance troupes, costumed Carnival characters, music and the King Cake Monarch Pageant, a drag competition to name the hub's royalty each year.

King Cake Hub opens for regular business Monday, Jan. 6, at 8:30 a.m. Beforehand, people lining up for the first cakes will find live piano music from Josh Paxton in the beer garden and donuts and kolaches from Paw Paw's Donuts for snacking on site.

This year, there will be some 100 different king cakes cycling through from producers including Bittersweet Confections, Breads on Oak, Brennan’s, Bywater Bakery, Caluda’s, Cannata’s, Caywood and Randazzo Bakery, District, Hi Do Bakery, Gracious Bakery, Joe Gambino’s Bakery, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Sugar Love, Nolita, Mad Batter Bakery and Marguerite’s King Cakes, Tartine and La Vie en Rose.

King Cake Hub operates daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Lundi Gras (March 3 this year, and the countdown is already on).