We enjoyed a great Mardi Gras weekend. We're both still of mixed minds about the whole affair: we love Mardi Gras and thoroughly enjoyed it; we think it is great that area businesses are reporting over $200 million in revenue; and we are eager to see if the funds actually get put back into the city's failing infrastructure.
There were some differences this year... shorter parades, less parades, and less days of rolling krewes. On the parade route, there were less port-a-potties (I waited in line at a nearby bar when I had to go today), and the intense street cleaning crews weren't quite out in the same force as previous years. (They are *impressive* to watch.) Word on the town is that the crowds were much smaller this year, but to us, it seemed full and fine. Then again, we stick to the Uptown festivities where the families hang out -- and where it is relatively easy for your kids to get throws, have cook-outs, play frisbee, and enjoy other common Uptown Mardi Gras fun.
We only attended 3 days of parades (I think we saw 7 parades) but still have a ton of loot. This is a close breakdown:
- 12 stuffed toys of various sizes (not including the many we caught but gave away)
- 5 footballs and at least 1 plastic basketball and stuffed baseball
- A stuffed Muses spear and Muses backpack (my new diaper bag) -- both were gifts from the Sherry's
- 5 doubloons
- Special medallion necklaces from Muses, Morpheus, and Zulu
- Two Krewe d'Etat Skulls
- One Zulu Coconut
- One pack of Male Nude Model Playing Cards
- Three super-speciality bead necklaces (one a bit more risque -- read about it under the picture of my belly below!)
- Two lanyards
- One music stick
- One light-up Muses star wand (that Will has repeatedly taken apart to the point where it may not work much longer!)
- At least 8 light-up necklaces, charms, and bracelets from the various night parades
- Two pedicure kits (Muses)
- One awesome "high-healed shoe" bracelet from the ladies of Muses
- A t-shirt (size small -- so we it gave to Mina, in the pictures below)
- Approximately 28 cups
- A TON of beads!!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Mardi Gras: The Wrap-up
HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!!!!!
Mondo Kayo and Pete Fountain's "Half Fast Walking Group" kicked off the morning! These two local traditions march before Zulu on Mardi Gras morning. We did get one of the medallion necklaces from Pete's group and it is one of my favorites from the day. This was also the first year since they started in 1961 that Pete wasn't with the walking club for Mardi Gras morning (he was ill).
How we entertained Will before the parades began! Once Paul decorated my belly, Will insisted on helping Paul share in the fun. He also decorated his own and gave us markers to help him. We wrote: "If found, please return to Zoo." For the rest of the day, Will showed everyone his belly to great amusement! 
ZULU
This year, Zulu featured a group of Africans (I'm not sure if they are actually from the Zulu tribe in South Africa or not, although that would sort of be the point).
Zulu is a crowd favorite! See all those hands in the air? And the roar that goes up when a rider has a coconut in their hands -- wow! Zulu is filled with fantastic music of all kinds and great throws. Will got a music wand, stuffed toys (many of which we gave to other kids), some great beads, and medallions. And YES -- we got a coconut!!! Because coconuts aren't usually thrown (you have to be right up on the float to get one), one of the families around us that we befriended got one for me -- I'm not sure if a rider designated it for me or not. There were some super-fun families around and they watched out for me and the belly!
Me and my belly! Will's washable markers provided the medium and Paul the artistic hand, following a sketch I made on a napkin. After realizing how thick the standing crowd was, we kept back a bit with our chairs and I stood on our big block cooler. The belly got *a lot* of attention. People asked for photographs and several of the riders on the floats stopped to pick up cameras to photograph me. The local news and CNN affliate also took video of me -- although we missed tonight's news (I was making dinner) and haven't seen our particular clip in CNN. The belly also attracted some special throws from riders who singled me out: including a huge stuffed tiger (Will was with me for this one so it was really for both of us) and some "risque" items from Zulu... a set of male nude playing cards and a (ahem) phallically-themed bead necklace (which I'm wearing in this picture if you can make it out!)
REX
Rex: the king of Carnival! It was the first Rex King that decided the colors of Mardi Gras, still used today: Purple, Green, and Gold. They have significance as well. Purple is for justice, gold for power, and green for faith.
Looking back at the crowd. We were in the "neutral" ground on St. Charles Avenue -- the street light in the distance is Jackson Avenue, which is the end of the Garden District. Usually, we are closer to home on Napoleon, where the crowd is thinner -- but Zulu hits St. Charles at Jackson Avenue, so you have to get further in town to catch that parade. (Rex does the more common route starting on Napoleon to St. Charles.)
The bull is a Rex symbol -- one of the special throws for this year was a bull stuffed animal. Unfortunately, Will was tired for the majority of Rex and spent most of the parade quietly playing in his stroller, running around in the neutral ground with other kids, or asleep. Will is our "speciality throws" magnet so we missed out on the bull.
One of the horsemen in Rex. Usually, this is who you work to get the coveted doubloons. (I was thrown two -- and caught one -- from a float rider who specifically took them out for me when he saw my belly.)
Detail on one of the beautiful Rex floats. We noticed that there were classic floats in many of the parades with damage from Katrina; sometimes the damaged parts were covered up with FEMA blue tarp (ha ha) other times, the damaged float was pulled behind another float.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Unicycle/Jugging Club Afternoon
We enjoyed a great afternoon with friends from Paul's unicycle/juggling club. We decided to forgo the evening parades and hung out all afternoon and into the evening... made dinner, played around, enjoyed the beautiful day.
Here, Will gets buried in beads by Grace and Mina (his new favorite girls -- he refused to do anything all day without one of them by his side) while we all look on from around the room.
The other exciting news is that Paul actually managed to ride the unicycle today and group consensus is that he may actually be riding by next weekend...!
Human skyscrapper! Mina stands on Paul's back while Alex helps Will make the top. Grace looks on (she was our spotter!)
My First Meme
From a tag by JMR.
| Culinary: | Beef | I am a vegetarian (health/environmental reasons. It's completely personal and I am in no way militant about it). But I do prefer a meat-free life. However... sometimes, especially when pregnant, I get a serious hankerin' for a beef hotdog and have to indulge. |
| Literary: | Trash Magazines | i.e.: Any "woman's" magazine (Glamour, Cosmo, Parenting, etc.) All trash, but sometimes I like the distraction... even if speculating on the minds that actually do take these things to heart thoroughly frightens me. |
| Audiovisual: | ABC soaps | I've owned up to this one before. I truly enjoy All My Children and think being a soap writer would be a total hoot. |
| Musical: | John Denver | Don't mention the plane crash. It still chokes me up. |
| Celebrity: | Angelina Jolie | She's got props from me for being a celeb into international issues who isn't a high-maintainence prima donna. |
Now I tag (which, for the newbies, means you do the same and post it to your blog)
melaniesuzanne; Wombat; Mergerson; Randy, and Eli.
To complete this same Quiz, Its HERE.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Mardi Gras 2006, continued...
Tonight's lineup: Hermes (which we missed, enjoying a dinner at local's favorite Frankie and Johnny's and talking to neighbors), Krewe D'Etat, and Morpheus
Pictured above.... the ABC soap stars float! Unfortunately, I don't have super great photos of them since I was catching throws while they are right in front of us. We were at the front of the parade and were virtually alone on the curb -- I exchanged hellos and caught throws with Dorian (Daytime Diva from One Life to Live) and Dixie (one of my childhood favorites on All My Children), who threw a medallion to Will. Interesting note to collectors: the medallions they threw were special to ABC soaps.
Paul (with Will on his shoulders in the yellow jacket) gets a glow-necklace from a rider on the Morpheus Captain's float.
A Krewe D'Etat Float. Special throws for this year: cups (we came home with 18), plush skeleton heads (we came home with 2), and doubloons.
Will goes crazy with the "spear" given to him by one of the float riders in Krewe D'Etat. Shortly after this picture, Paul distracted Will and I gave the spear to another, older, child (after clearing it with a parent). Paul and I decided that Will did *not* need a spear!
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Mardi Gras 2006
Mardi Gras has been going on in NOLA for awhile now, but tonight things are really starting and will continue basically non-stop until Tuesday. We decided last minute to walk over to Napoleon and take in some of the nights activities.
Here are Paul and Will waiting for the start of tonight's Uptown parades: Babylon, Chaos, and Muses. Will fell down our front stairs a few minutes before we left -- see the scratch on his little check and grey goose-egg above it on his head?
Will waves and whistles (he even started to say "Hey Mister" -- the official "call" to request throws from riders).
