February in New Orleans means Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras enthusiasts run the gamut from those who spastically try attending every parade humanly possible to a friend of mine, who when I mentioned that I was beginning to get that familiar excited feeling of anticipation, groused “I think it’s overkill, they should have Mardi Gras every ten years.” I usually land somewhere in the middle. Thankfully parades and events are spread out over a rather leisurely pace in the preceding weeks, but by the weekend before Fat Tuesday you will have to do some kind of picking and choosing.
Even after all these years, I still spring for Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide (sold at what seems like every store in New Orleans); you can’t beat it for an advance listing of which parades take place when and where. One of my favorite new sources for Mardi Gras happenings is a unique product called The Mardi Card which is basically the size of a postcard but unfolds, accordion style to 13″ x 30. In addition to basic history maps and parade info, the Mardi Card lists a number of quirkier happenings and hipster gatherings you might not know about. (The Mardi Card can be found at select local stores—Martin Wine Cellar, Lenny’s, Whole Foods and you can check out their website www.mardicard.com).
Skipping over the 40-plus parades that take place in the New Orleans area I’m moving straight onto Lundi Gras. On what used to be a rather slow day, a breather between the weekend and Tuesday’s revelry, Monday (February 15) has become a full day of musical opportunities all unto itself. For example check out the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club’s annual celebration at Woldenberg Park (along the river basically behind Tower Records and Bookstar) and Aquarium Plaza.
Although the highlight of the day is the arrival of King and Queen Zulu by boat at 5 p.m., live music is presented on two stages throughout the day. The line-up, starting around 10 a.m. includes The Revealers, Big Al Carson, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Kermit Ruffins, Wanda Rouzan, James Rivers Movement and Charmaine Neville. You’ll get a taste of Zulu every hour as such well-known figures as Mr. Big Shot, Witch Doctor, Province Prince and others second line from one stage to the other.
A number of food vendors will be on hand selling local favorites—jambalaya, crawfish pasta, red beans and rice and catfish poboys. And this is pretty interesting: if you want a Zulu souvenir a craft tent will be selling Zulu memorabilia. I guess that means you don’t have to actually catch one of their popular painted coconuts, or you can just pick up one here (504-827-1661).
Also, on Lundi Gras, just upriver from Zulu’s party, is another all day presentation of local music at the Riverwalk’s Spanish Plaza (by the river between Poydras and Canal). Starting around 2 p.m. performances by Bag of Donuts and LeMeridien’s Jazz King Competition keep the crowds happy as they await the arrival of Rex, King of Carnival, at 6 p.m. by boat. This marks the official start of Mardi Gras and is immediately followed by fireworks and a performance by the world-famous Iguanas. Festivities are over around 8 p.m. which leaves plenty of time to catch the that evening’s Orpheus Parade. (Riverwalk 504-522-1555).
Everyone has his own way of doing Mardi Gras. Some have a specific plan, others totally wing it; some plant themselves in one spot while others walk for miles; some desire the family-oriented, others as much debauchery as possible, and of course there’re all those who actually ride on the floats.
I’m just going to lead you through my way of doing things and you may find a few tips. First off, it took me a few years (I am a transplant, after all) to learn that masking is not just for Halloween. Although you may feel a little obvious at first, it’s everyone’s duty to don a costume—no time to be shy.
One of my great pleasures of the day is to start by catching the Jefferson City Buzzards Marching Club at 6:45 am. Founded in 1890, this is one of about half a dozen groups who march through the side streets of uptown making their way to the French Quarter, stopping at various bars for refreshments. The Buzzards start on Laurel Street by Audubon Park but I meet up with them at 7 a.m. at Norby’s Bar for my first beer of the day. I then hop in the car to make my way down to Commander’s Palace on Washington Ave.
If I miss Pete Fountain’s Half Fast Walking Club when they leave at 8 a.m., I just catch up with them as they parade down St. Charles Ave. As I make my way down St. Charles, walking past the mini-camps of spectators staked out along the Avenue, I keep my eyes and ears open for the Mondo Kayo Social and Marching Club, starting near First Street onto St. Charles. You can’t help but fall in with this group for a few blocks as Hawaiian-hula-skirted members bump and grind to recorded Brazilian Carnival songs. The Mardi Card description says Mondo Kayo “operates on the premise that New Orleans is the northernmost banana republic.”
By now I’m strutting my way down Jackson Avenue to find my own special place on the sidewalk to watch the Zulu Parade! I always go the length of Jackson, a few blocks from Claiborne, to get away from the white-bread crowd on St. Charles and to get into the funkiness of this great parade. Fun, fun, fun—the early morning crispness, people laughing and milling around the streets, majestic oak trees overhead and a beer in hand at 8 a.m. You may be familiar with the painted coconuts or spears that they toss from the floats but my favorite throw are the women’s panties imprinted with a Zulu logo. After Zulu passes you can try and catch the Julu parade, comprised of members of the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, who follow immediately behind Zulu, as they pass near Baronne and Jackson.
I usually head uptown a little, walking through the neighborhood along Danneel, Dryades and Baronne, between Jackson and Louisiana looking out for Mardi Gras Indians tribes. I’ve yet to be disappointed . There’s nothing quite as thrilling as walking down the street and stumbling upon an elaborately feathered Mardi Gras Indian and his troupe having a face off with another tribe, while the chants and drums fill the air all around you. Photo-op city! These are not neighborhoods I’d normally walk in, but on this day amazing things seem to happen and I haven’t ever had any problems.
Although I haven’t had the chance to stop by yet, by mid-afternoon many of the Mardi Gras Indian Gangs gather around the intersection of N. Claiborne Ave. and Orleans.
By now I take in a little of the St. Charles ruckus, usually running into some friends, but I usually find the crowds too thick and anyway—it’s time to head to the Quarter. Obviously driving on Mardi Gras day is insane but I do it anyway; I like to think I know the city so well that I know how to scoot around but it’s really just luck. I pick up my car from the Garden District and go to my secret parking place in the CBD. The French Quarter is as decadent as you want it to be, just head over to Bourbon street for your fill of boobs and beads. By 3 p.m., I try to end up in front of St. Louis Cathedral to witness what has apparently become a tradition.
The Mardi Card turned me on to this one—you’ll find a lone papal impersonator bullhorn in hand verbally assaulting the fire-and-brimstone Jesus freaks (also packing a bull horn) with hilarious knowledgeable denunciations that are countered with the religious sect’s primary comeback “you’ll burn in hell” If you know the local music scene you may be surprised by who’s under the Pope costume.
I continue my meandering through the quarter, checking out the costumes, ending my day on Frenchman Street by Cafe Brazil and the Dream Palace. The Krewe of Kosmic Debris, the Mystic Herd of Nutria and others gather here by late afternoon providing a drum-driven jam for the crowd. For years this has evolved into a great scene of dear friends, so it almost seems like a private party, but anyone can come.
