Mardi Gras

Discussion in 'Events and Festivals' started by Karen_J, Feb 12, 2013.

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  1. Karen_J

    Karen_J Visitor

    Happy Fat Tuesday! :party: Wish I was in the French Quarter.

    And I wish everybody could go there at least one time, and bring just 10% of the Mardi Gras attitude home with them. It would make America a better place. :)
     
  2. TAZER-69

    TAZER-69 Listen To Your Heart! Lifetime Supporter

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    I wish I was there also....... I will be going in the next few years for sure.
     
  3. Karen_J

    Karen_J Visitor

    Carnival 2014 is already under way! Carnival officially runs from the twelfth day of Christmas (Jan. 6) until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Easter comes late this year, so the Carnival season will be longer than usual.

    The Joan of Arc parade was the first one on the schedule. I haven’t seen this one in person, but it must be very small, or else it couldn’t run in the French Quarter. It begins and ends on Decatur, and runs 6 blocks on Chartres Street, in front of the famous Catholic Church at Jackson Square. This parade has only been running since 2009.

    Most of the Mardi Gras / Carnival season parades used to run in the French Quarter, but the crowds have grown so much that those narrow streets and sidewalks can’t accommodate them anymore. It is in the French Quarter that flashing boobs for beads originated. Every float throws beads, and people compete to see who can catch the most, doing all kinds of things to attract attention from folks on the floats. Flashing outside the FQ is not tolerated by the police.

    Joan of Arc was followed by the Phunny Phorty Phellows, which is just a bunch of guys riding in a chartered streetcar on the St. Charles Street line, throwing beads. Since 1981, it’s been the first event of Carnival. Only local people show up for this, except for a few visitors who happen to be in town for something else.

    Any group that puts together a public Carnival event is called a Krewe. You have to pay to be a member, and pay for everything you throw from your parade float. In addition to parade events, they raise funds for local charities during the rest of the year. Most hold a private Mardi Gras party, for members and invited guests only. The more prestigious Krewes are more expensive and harder to get into. It’s a parallel situation to the charitable social clubs that exist in most American cities, such as Civitans and Rotary Club. None of them are affiliated with any secretive organizations, such as Shriners.

    Another old Mardi Gras tradition is the King Cake. You can serve one at any party during the Carnival season. They are decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold, and green. Every cake contains one tiny plastic baby Jesus, and whoever finds the baby in their piece is responsible for hosting next year’s party, according to tradition. If you order a King Cake online, their lawyers require them to keep the baby out of the cake, for you to hide in a random location after you receive it. Choking hazard for children, they say.

    Due to the extra long Carnival season this year, there won’t be another parade in New Orleans until February 15.
     
  4. wobs

    wobs Senior Member

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    im going to have to get over there eventually
     
  5. Karen_J

    Karen_J Visitor

    New Orleans loves its traditions and history, but it's also in a constant state of change. The schedule is never the same twice. There are several changes this year.

    Last Saturday, Krewe du Vieux marched through the French Quarter, followed by Delusion. I've seen Krewe du Vieux. They have a reputation for being the edgiest krewe in New Orleans, sometimes crossing the line into material that some find offensive. Their float themes are sarcastic, confrontational, and critical of authority. Because they march so long before Fat Tuesday, most of the people who show up live in or around southern Louisiana or southern Mississippi.

    I haven't seen Delusion. It may be one of those truck parades. Truck parades are just flatbed 18-wheelers with temporary railings built around the edges, for people who want to participate in a parade and throw beads, but can't afford to pay much to be a member of a krewe. Truck parades usually follow parades with real floats. Not everybody sticks around to watch them, depending on how big of a bead whore you are, how drunk you are, and whether or not the parade route has you cut off from where you want to go next.

    This weekend is my favorite weekend of the Mardi Gras season. It's a lot less crowded than next weekend will be, but has just as many good parades. Most of the people watching live close enough to the area that they know a lot about Mardi Gras and care about the traditions. People from out of state who only want to see naked boobs and drink until they fall over won't show up until next weekend.

    Yesterday was Cork, Oshun, and Cleopatra. Cork is a very small FQ (French Quarter) parade with a wine theme. Oshun has bigger, more traditional floats than Krewe du Vieux, with shapes made out of paper mache, and follows what has become the standard route for bigger parades, follow the Saint Charles Street streetcar line through downtown to Canal Street, and making a big U-turn to cover both sides of the very wide street. The most crowded area is always on the FQ side of Canal Street. Cleopatra follows; an all female krewe. They are new to downtown.

    Today is Pontchartrain and six others, all but two following the standard downtown route. Two have floats pulled by mules instead of tractors.

    Four parades roll tomorrow. King Arthur is the biggest. They always have really nice, elaborate, beautiful floats. Barkus is dogs in cute costumes! Unfortunately, it's really hard to see the dogs unless you're standing up front. It's in the FQ.

    One thing everybody needs to keep in mind about New Orleans parade schedules; they hardly ever start on time, and they move slow. If you're down close to the FQ and you get there on time, you may have a long wait before you see any action. That's not too bad, as long as you aren't too far from a bar. You can have drinks out on the street, enjoy them with some strangers, and make a new friend or two.
    :cheers2:
     
  6. Gongshaman

    Gongshaman Modus Lascivious

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    One of our local bars, 'Sportmans tavern and casino' (Sporty's for short)will be hosting a parallel event known as 'Sporty Gras'. There will be beads, topless women and of course excessive drinking (and smoking) lol.
    A friend of mine choreographs the event, she supply's the beads, costumes and everything. Should be a good time!

    :party::biggrinjester:
     
  7. Karen_J

    Karen_J Visitor

    Yesterday, New Orleans wrapped up another Mardi Gras season, at the end of seven straight days of parades (in addition to the ones I already posted about). There were four each on Saturday and Sunday. Most of the weekday parades were at night. The two largest and most important of the week were Zulu and Rex.

    Halfway through yesterday’s Rex parade, the king of Mardi Gras (called Rex) was crowned at a temporary grandstand area near the Intercontinental Hotel. This was traditionally done in front of Jackson Square on Decatur Street, but has been relocated in recent years to accommodate larger crowds. Rex is usually a nationally known celebrity, but not this year.

    Two truck parades follow Zulu and Rex, but by then the party is already starting to move to Bourbon Street, where things will be wilder than ever until midnight, when the police do a little parade of their own and clear the street. This year’s Fat Tuesday was a bit subdued, due to cold rain. When the weather is better, it’s the only day of the year you’ll see girls on Bourbon Street wearing nothing above the waist but body paint, and flashing is more common that day than it usually is at night. Masks reduce concerns about pics getting posted online. Cheap masks are available everywhere, but some locals wear traditional masks that are quite beautiful.

    Also on Fat Tuesday, the Mardi Gras Indians traditionally meet to strut their stuff in the Tremé neighborhood, underneath the I-10 overpass. Meeting times vary. These are small groups of black men who create magnificent and elaborate feathered Native American costumes, and dance to traditional African music.

    Mardi Gras / Carnival is an example of how badly it can backfire to try to force religion on people. It is celebrated internationally mostly in areas where observing Lent was once required by law, regardless of an individual’s true personal beliefs. The idea was that if you had to give up your favorite vices for 40 days, you should indulge them so much beforehand that you wouldn’t miss them, at least not for a while. The party ends at the stroke of midnight when Ash Wednesday arrives, the start of Lent on the orthodox liturgical calendar throughout the Christian world.

    Forced observance of Lent ended with the end of French rule in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras lived on. Two days from now will begin another average weekend in New Orleans, maybe just a bit calmer than usual.

    Mardi Gras is observed to some degree in other parts of the Deep South, most notably in Mobile, Alabama. One web site has counted a total of 71 Carnival parades in the South this year, at least 80% within an hour’s drive of the French Quarter.
     
  8. Gongshaman

    Gongshaman Modus Lascivious

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    Thanks for the great posts Karen!
    I really enjoy your descriptions and insight.:)

    I must go to N'awlins for Mardi Gras at least once in my lifetime.:2thumbsup:
     
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