Fat Tuesday, Louisiana

Day 1227

Today is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras day,

the last day of the carnival celebration,

and the last day of parades.

 The parade attendees go all out, so let’s look at them:

Even the Pope showed up

Don’t ask me

They came in all shapes and sizes

Some people really get into it

and some had better seats than others

No one was there with a long face, except maybe this horse.

Have you seen this man?

Does she color? Only her hairdresser knows for sure

Some look better from behind

Is this a man or a women?

What a clown

These are only the people around me,

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. This is definitely a fun time of year.  

Reunion Lake Parade, La

Day 1224

Mardi Gras Parades are everywhere

Even here at the RV park we are staying

Residents decorated their gulf carts, and around they went.

Mardi Gras Boat Parade, Madisonville, La

Day 1217

     We attended the Madisonville boat parade last year (see day 883). 

     Since it such a unique thing, we did it again. 

     Madisonville is located on the Tchefuncte River. Access is controlled by a bridge that carries Rt. 22 traffic. Unlike most bridges, this one pivots and swings out to let boats pass. 

     You might have a dog in your front yard. Here is the Deep South they have hogs.

     The second best view of the parade is from a drone

     The best view is a bird’s eye

50 Mardi Gras Parades, Louisiana

Day 1216

     There are over 50 parades in the New Orleans area during Carnival Season. 

     Since we have been here during Mardi Gras a number of times, we will only go to 2 or 3 parades, as they become redundant.

     We went to this night parade in Mandeville, Louisiana

     There were marching bands

     Lots of Floats

     Dancers – These are the milkmaids

     And, of course, the gift shop

     Throw me something, mister!

     Barbara kidnapped this little boy. Notice she is wearing a lighted crown. I stayed away from her, so as not to be embarrassed.

     We saw the lazy-boy recliner motorized group

     We will probably go to the Boat Parade next.

It’s Party Time, New Orleans

Day 1212

     In Maryland, the day before Ash Wednesday is called “TUESDAY”. Here in the Big Easy, the day before Ash Wednesday is called “Mardi Gras”. Louisiana is the only state in which Mardi Gras is a legal holiday.

     Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

     Mardi Gras season became a prelude too Lent, the 47 days of fasting and penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Traditionally, in the days leading up to Lent, merrymakers would binge on all the rich, fatty foods—meat, eggs, milk, lard, cheese—that remained in their homes, in anticipation of several weeks of eating only fish and different types of fasting.

     Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, February 25. However the parades of Mardi Gras began here on January 6th.

     So, you might ask, who builds the floats, and where are they stored until parade time? Today, we searched out that answer.

     We visited Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World. Kern Studios was founded in 1932 as a float building company for New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades. Roy Kern was a local New Orleans artist who worked his way through the Great Depression by painting signs for barges and freighters in the Port of New Orleans. Roy’s son, Blaine Kern, was also an artist and in 1932 father and son were invited to build a float for one of the krewes for the Mardi Gras Parade. They have been doing so ever since. Today, Kern Studios builds parade floats for 18 different krewes.

      We found the workers hard at work:

     The floats start as a nondescript piece of styrofoam that is shaped into the various pieces of the float.

     It is then papermached to become a seamless piece

     and then painted.

     Plywood pieces are painted with various designs

     and then cut to be placed on the float.

     There are a gazillion accessories that are available to add to the float

     even spare body parts.

     The floats are completed by being placed on a chassis (sort of like the one the Sphinx is on) to be pulled by a motorized vehicle.

     These completed floats will be delivered this week to the various Krewes that ordered them to be in their respected parades. The cost of the float, from conception to completion, is between $100,000 and $250,000 each. 

     Well, I will post my next blog when pigs fly:

Bored In Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Day 1208

     Since we have been at this campground 7 times, I am running out of new sites to see. So what do we do? Gamble.

     Drove just over the Mississippi line to the Silver Slipper Casino. 

     Now, I can not just stay home and be bored, but I can stay home and be bored broke. 

     Actually, not that bored. There are many activities at the campground we are located, but I am anxious to get back on the road.