NOLA: Mardi Gras Prelude

I really do not know how to explain Mardi Gras. It's exhausting and exhilarating, monotonous, marvelous and maniacal, overwhelming and outlandish. It's a lot like New Orleans, actually.

So the last I wrote about Mardi Gras was my first parade, Krewe de Vieux. Wow, if I knew then how exhausting it would be, I would have napped rather than write about my experiences. For those of you who are not familiar with New Orleans' Mardi Gras traditions, I'll provide a little explanation and then I have lots of pictures.

Mardi Gras, while generally referring to a specific day (the day before Ash Wednesday, aka Fat Tuesday), does not actually refer just to the day. Mardi Gras is a season in New Orleans, starting on January 6th. From the Epiphany to Ash Wednesday, various krewes celebrate the season, mainly with lavish balls. Where do the parades and beads and debauchery come in, you ask? On the way to the balls...

The parades are, in fact, the route krewe members take to get to the ball (in most circumstances). There are many krewes and many different parades. And, despite what you may have preconceived about Mardi Gras, most of it does not happen in the French Quarter AND most of it is pretty family friendly. The general parade route starts Uptown (usually around Napoleon) and continues down St. Charles until coming upon Canal and turning around at the Convention Center or the Superdome. The parades don't even go into the Quarter. Of course, Krewe de Vieux is an exception (as is the only dog parade, Krewe of Barkus). Along the parade route, krewe members, usually costumed to protect their identity (there is a remarkably secretive history to krewes), throw out various objects to the proletariats crowded below. The throws are not just beads. They are cups, medallions, shoes, coconuts, footballs, stuffed animals, flowers, fun toys, flags, coins, bags, and even potato chips (thank you, Krewe of Mid-City). These items are highly coveted and everyone from small children to old women will tear you apart to get some of them, a truth I learned painfully on Mardi Gras morning (but more on that later). Specifically, certain krewes give out specific items that are the boast of whomever wins them. The Krewe of Muses, for example, passes out beautifully hand-decorated shoes. The Krewe of Zulu passes out coconuts. Now that we all understand Mardi Gras a little more, I'll proceed to some details and pictures.

Friday, January 25 (MG - 11 days): Oshun, 6pm

It's pouring outside. It's been raining all day and the neutral ground on St. Charles is flooded with standing water. But, being my first Mardi Gras, I put on rainboots and my raincoat (thank you, W&M) and head out to meet some friends I choraled into going out on this miserable night. Sadly, we are some of the few people outside. However, as some of the few excitable people on the street, we get a lot of booty: a rainmaker, plastic sword with sheath, stuffed animal-like rose, and more beads than we can wear around our tired, now wet, necks. The second parade of the night is rescheduled. We retreat, thankful, back inside to hot chocolate and the first of many king cakes.

Saturday, January 26 (MG - 10 days): Ponchartrain, 1pm; Shangri-La, 2pm; Sparta, 6pm; Pegasus, 6:45pm

Not raining today and people have literally camped out on St. Charles - really, there are tents. I am still at the point where I just like getting beads. That will soon change. With a similar group of friends, we bide our time until the parade passes Jackson (usually about 45 minutes after it's scheduled to start if it's the first parade of the day. All bets are off on later parades.). We are sadly disappointed to not get sexy lady beads from Shangri-La but I do get a cup and medallion. We take a short break (Shangri-La does not pass Jackson until around 3:30pm) and head back out for Sparta and Pegasus and return home exhausted from the day's efforts of shouting, cajoling, and waving to attract beads and throws. I decide to relax tomorrow and only attend one parade. Parade count: 6

Sunday, January 27 (MG - 9 days): Krewe of Barkus, 2pm

The second parade in the French Quarter, it's a krewe made up of dogs. It's pretty much adorable and Alana, Laura, Megan and I greatly enjoy the Raiders of the Lost Bark. (Did I mention most parades have themes?) Not many beads, but a nice break from the St. Charles bead frenzy. We stop and get beignets from Cafe du Monde.

(A short break to do work and such.)

Thursday, January 31 (MG - 5 days)

Rain :( One of the most talked about parades, Muses, is rescheduled. I'm sadly disappointed - one of my professors is in this parade and class was cancelled so she could ride in the parade. I don't do any work because of my extreme disappointment (and because, at this point, it's hard to concentrate). But, there is a party at my house that night and I get over my disappointment.

Friday, February 1 (MG - 4 days): Hermes, 6pm; Krewe d'Etat, 6:30pm; Morpheus, 7:45pm; Muses, after Morpheus

You can smell the excitement in the air. It's finally Mardi Gras weekend. At this point, only the strong and determined can make it through until Tuesday. I gird my loins... (hopefully, some of you will understand my allusion)

Hermes rolls around 6:45. We are pumped. Alana, Megan, Laura, Chelsea, Karissa, Melody and I are ready to go. We've perfected our Mardi Gras skills: make eye contact with the person throwing the item you want, smile, wave, shout, and work in pairs. If you can get something from a krewe member, you can usually get it again for your sad looking friend. Glass beads have now become the gold-standard. Hermes theme is Cupid and Psyche. You should look up the myth because I'm not explaining all their floats. Needless to say, the bar has been raised. I get many beads (Krewe beads: winged sandals), a cup, and a flashing 2008 Hermes medallion!

Krewe d'Etat rolls around 7:45. Their floats are by far the most interesting as they make fun of the year's events. Their king (every parade has a royal court) is a dictator. A Hillary float rolls by, as do a Jindal, a Rosie, and a Paris and Lindsey float. Krewe d'Etat's theme is Dirty Dishes and their symbol is a skull. We get flashing gooey skull things, flashing skulls, cups, Krewe beads (disks with the name and a skull on them), and a cup. Krewe d'Etat is highly entertaining.

I forgot to mention the general structure of the parades! Basically, the parades lead with a royal court (sometimes on horseback, sometimes on a float). For some of the parades, the royal court is made up of famous people; for others, it is made up of New Orleanians. There is a lead float, sometimes describing the theme. The rest of the parade is made up of floats, high school bands (whose sole purpose, I've decided, is because the band parents push everyone back to the sidewalk). With the bands, there are usually dance troops and flag people. There are usually some smaller bands (club bands) on independent floats. In some parades there are flambeau carriers (google it).

Krewe of Morpheus rolls much later. At this point, we are bordering on exhaustion as are our necks. But we truck on... Muses is coming soon. I get a cool medallion from Morpheus.

Muses! This krewe of women is amazing! They give out the best throws! If you go to any parade during the Mardi Gras season, go to Muses. Their theme is always shoes. This year's variation was roller skates. Featuring skating clubs, amazing floats, and great costumes, the parade throws topped them all. In all, I collected a bracelet of shoes, a bag, a roller skate medallion, a rubic cube, glass beads, a poof, and shoe beads. Unfortunately, I did not get a shoe, but Laura got two (she kindly gave her other one to Megan, for Megan's participation in the shoe-getting... remember, work in pairs). Muses was most definitely worth the wait.

I finally returned to my house around 12:30am, after leaving it at 5:30pm.

Remember, Mardi Gras is a marathon, not a sprint. I'll continue with the weekend's festivities, Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras later, seeing as this post is getting preposterously long.
Parade Count: 11.