A Mardi Gras Sampler

In March 1699, French Canadian Pierre Le Moyne traveled down the Mississippi River to explore the Louisiana colony.

It was Mardi Gras, the celebratory Tuesday before Ash Wednesday when French residents have long “lived it up before giving it up.” He and his men paused near the mouth of the river and he marked the day in his journal.

“In tribute to the festival holiday being celebrated that day in France,” writes Arthur Hardy in “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” “Iberville named the spot Pointe du Mardi Gras and the adjoining channel Bayou du Mardi Gras.”

And so began a 300-plus-year tradition in Louisiana.

The fun begins early in the year, on Twelfth Night, Jan. 6, otherwise known as the Feast of the Epiphany. This is the beginning of the Carnival Season that lasts until the blowout Tuesday, known as Mardi Gras. Carnival always begins on the same date, but Mardi Gras falls on different Tuesdays since it’s connected to Easter, which is tied to the lunar calendar.

Want to know more? We’ve assembled a Mardi Gras sampler to answer your questions and whet your appetite.

What’s in a Name?

Visitors to the state during Carnival often wonder if they’ve stumbled into ancient Greece because many krewes adapted their names from mythology.

“The colorful worlds of Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology are the sources of nearly half of the parading krewe names (in New Orleans),” writes Arthur Hardy in “Mardi Gras in New Orleans.” “Others are named after the neighborhoods through which they travel, while some are named after historical figures or places.”

The Krewe of Comus, New Orleans’ first krewe-based organization, is named for the Greek son Komus of gods Bacchus and Circe. The spelling may be different but the recognition apropos for Komus was the god of festive mirth. In Shreveport, the Krewe of Centaur honors the mythical half-man, half-horse but also gives a nod to the horse racing industry of Northwest Louisiana.

Down the bayou in the Lafourche region, parades take their names for their roads they travel: Krewe of Montegut, Krewe of Terreanians. The Krewe of Houmas in Houma reflects the Native Americans who called that region home.

And then there are those who enjoy parading to their interests, such as the Krewe of Chewbacchus, a sci-fi and fantasy Mardi Gras krewe.

A View of Royalty

With a few exceptions, you must be a krewe member to attend the krewe’s Mardi Gras ball and view their costumed royalty in an elegant and intimate setting. For those krewes who parade, their royalty may ride floats for all to view.

Lake Charles, however, presents its city’s royalty in one lavish event that’s open to the public at the Lake Charles Civic Center. Known as the Mardi Gras Royal Gala, kings and queens, dukes and duchesses and other royal members of each krewe parade in extravagant costumes through the center’s coliseum along with live music and dancing.

This year’s event, presented by Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras, will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 12.

Wild and Crazy

Carnival begins on Jan. 6, otherwise known as Twelfth Night, and every year on this evening the Phunny Phorty Phellows rejoice the beginning of festivities in their “Carnival Countdown” as they ride the streetcar up and down St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Pause along the route to watch these Phunny Phellows in costume and perhaps catch the first beads of the season.

But that’s just one of many unique and sometimes wild Carnival events that happen from the beginning of Carnival Season to the raucous Tuesday known as Mardi Gras. One tied to Louisiana’s colorful politics is the Spanish Town Parade in Louisiana’s capital.

Baton Rouge doesn’t celebrate Carnival like its southeastern neighbor but residents in the early 1980s remedied that sad fact by creating a neighborhood parade the Saturday before Mardi Gras in Spanish Town.
“By 1984, when I was king (between the car dealer Price “Dahlin’” LeBlanc and blues legend Tabby Thomas) it had evolved into a good-sized parade with funny, irreverent floats, many of them making fun of the part-time residents of the nearby State Capitol,” said Smiley Anders, longtime columnist at The Advocate newspaper. “Governors, legislators, KKK leaders, famous madams and wayward preachers have all been fair game. The unofficial motto has always been ‘Bad taste is better than no taste at all.’”

Today the Spanish Town Parade attracts thousands with those sarcastic floats, bands — according to Anders, high school bands are not allowed due to the rowdy nature of the parade — and dancing groups.
“These days, crowds range in the neighborhood of 100,000 or so, and the folks in the neighborhood welcome them with tons of gumbo, jambalaya, various grilled meats and disturbing quantities of beer (Pabst Blue Ribbon is a favorite) and Jell-O shots,” Anders said.

Sweet!

Also on Jan. 6, the onset of Carnival, the king cakes arrive. It’s a tradition in Louisiana to enjoy king cakes through Carnival until the grand day of Mardi Gras.

Don Tubbs, owner of Tubbs Hardware and Cajun Gifts in Bossier City saw an opportunity to create king cakes when parades began rolling in front of his business. He toyed with king cake recipes until he hit upon a moist perfection in 1989. He calls his concoctions “Extreme King Cakes” for the extreme amount of filling he uses.

It may appear odd to purchase a king cake from a hardware store, but visitors will understand once they spot the rows and rows of Mardi Gras beads and apparel, not to mention hot sauces and other Louisiana food items. There’s a reason it’s called Tubbs Hardware and Cajun Gifts.

Obviously, the idea paid off. Tubbs sells thousands of king cakes every year.

Boat Parades

Carnival fun isn’t limited to the streets, and rightly so since much of Louisiana contains waterways, whether rivers, bayous or lakes. On Jan. 27, the Krewe of Bilge Parade engages decorated boats to sail through the Eden Isles and Clipper Estates subdivisions in Slidell, then on Feb. 3, the Krewe of Tchefuncte in Madisonville cruises the Tchefuncte River. On Feb. 8, there are three boat parades to choose from: the Mardi Gras Lighted Boat Parade traveling adjacent to Lakeshore Drive in Lake Charles, the Krewe of Tickfaw sailing down the Tickfaw River and the Krewe of Diversion following the Amite River and its Diversion Canal.

Screaming for Shoes

In 2000, attorney Staci Rosenberg began the Krewe of Muses, an all-female krewe whose goal was diversity and the strength of womanhood. The parade rolls the Thursday night before Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The first year the krewe rolled, they threw a commemorative bead in the shape of high heel shoes.
“The idea was, it’s a women’s krewe. It (the high heel) is our greatest strength and our greatest weakness,” said one of Muses’ founders Virginia Saussy.

The krewe’s goal is to throw items with an artistic flare, so the following year some members decorated actual high heels and threw them to the screaming hoards along the parade route.

“By 2004, it spread organically throughout the krewe,” Saussy said. “We were gutting thrift stores. We were gutting our most uncomfortable shoes. It’s now the most coveted throw of the season.”

Saussy spends hours creating her shoes, sometimes with other members, in “glitter parties.”

“You can spend days making one shoe,” she said. “A lot of artistry goes into it. Having a Muses shoe is a big deal.”

But that’s not the only cool throw the Muses women unleash on Carnival-goers. Krewe members have thrown lunch boxes, tea towels, pocket mirrors, cotton tote bags and key rings, among other reusable items.
“We really try to throw things you can use again and again,” Saussy said. “We don’t want to end up in your attic.”

Just don’t expect to get a shoe easily. Each member may only decorate and throw up to 30 shoes each year.

Cars & Cheers

When organizers thought to bring Mardi Gras events to Alexandria, they started thinking outside the box. In addition to Alexandria’s krewes with traditional parades, the Classic Cars & College Cheerleaders Parade rolls through downtown made up of about 100 classic cars and three to four bands and cheerleaders from colleges, universities and high schools from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi.

“We didn’t want to compete with everything down south,” said Daniel D. McGuffee, parade chairman and vice president of the Alexandria Mardi Gras Association. “We wanted family-friendly options for people. We wanted something different, and we wanted something no one else had.”

Organizers invite high schools and colleges to participate. Northwestern State University in Natchitoches and LSU have walked in past parades.

In addition, other Alexandria krewes donate five to six floats for their use. One is the international float and the others are filled with active military from Camp Beauregard, Camp Cook and Fort Polk.

The Classic Cars & College Cheerleaders Parade rolls at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9.

Go to the Dogs

Mardi Gras isn’t relegated to humans. Throughout the state, folks dress up their favorite pets — usually dogs since they tolerate costumes best — and parade them down the street. Many of these parades dedicated to our four-legged friends raise money for humane societies and shelters.

The Krewe of Wag’uns Children and Pets Parade rolls through downtown Natchitoches the Saturday before Mardi Gras, a collection of pets in costumes on decorated children’s wagons accompanied by their young owners. As is tradition, a krewe king and queen are chosen along with a grand marshal and court.

“It’s not political,” Parade Director Juanita Murphy said of the parade’s royalty. “It’s not the prettiest dog. And it’s absolutely anyone. One year we had a rooster.”

The court is presented at the Natchitoches riverfront stage and awards given out for best costumes and wagon displays.

“We have a toast in the true spirit of Mardi Gras,” Murphy said.

The parade is sponsored by FAUNA, Friends United for Natchitoches Animals, with money raised to help build a shelter.

Children’s Parades

Children’s parades have been a part of Carnival revelry for years and span the state. And it doesn’t stop at parades. Eunice hosts its Lil’ Mardi Gras Courir, a Cajun chicken run for children up to 14 years old.
The following are parades and Carnival events for the little ones. The Krewe of Little Rascals that paraded in Metairie since 1983 will not roll this year due to the death of co-founder, Jack Spittler Sr.

Courir Costumes

Most people think of Louisiana Carnival in terms of parades and balls, but in Cajun Country, folks dance for a chicken. Called Le Courir de Mardi Gras, the tradition of costumed men and women on horseback and trucks traveling the countryside to beg residents for ingredients for a gumbo, usually with a musical band and onlookers following behind, dates to medieval France. In the old days, disguised revelers dressed in mocking costumes of the church and government, visited homes on Mardi Gras day, performing skits and songs while they begged.

In the Louisiana prairie, the masked group of riders are accompanied by a capitaine who carries a flag and leads the group in trying to catch chickens for a gumbo. The Louisiana courirs still dress in costumes that mock officials, such as the pointed hat known as the capuchon that once poked fun at French royalty or mortarboards that mock the educated. Festivities vary. Some include a parade, musical performances from zydeco musicians, jam sessions, street dances and yes, a community gumbo.

2024 CHILDREN’S PARADES

Feb. 3
Krewe of Janus Children’s Parade, West Monroe to Monroe

Feb. 4
Le Courir de Mardi Gras, Vermilionville

Feb. 10
Children’s Parade, Lafayette
Alexandria Mardi Gras Association Children’s Parade, Alexandria
Children’s Mardi Gras Stroll, Lake Charles

Feb. 11
Mardi Gras Children’s Day Parade, Lake Charles
Eunice Lil’ Mardi Gras Courir, Eunice

2024 PET PARADES

Jan. 28
CAAWS Mystic Krewe of Mutts Parade, Baton Rouge

Feb. 3
Krewe de Paws of Olde Towne, Slidell

Feb 4
Krewe du Chien, Lafayette
The Mystic Krewe of Barkus, New Orleans
The Krewe of Barkus and Meoux, Shreveport

Feb. 10
Krewe of Wag’uns Children and Pets Parade,  Natchitoches

Feb. 17
Krewe Du Pooch, Mandeville Lakefront

Feb. 18
Krewe of Mardi Paws, Covington