Mardi Gras traditions
Mardi Gras is a day. Carnival is a season – and it starts every year on January 6th – Twelfth Night. Festivities kick off with the first parade of the season celebrating Carnival and Joan of Arc's birthday. Though most people are aware of our parades, few realize they go on for weeks – and are only one of the Mardi Gras season's many traditions.
King Cake
It's considered bad luck to eat King Cake out of season, so we impatiently wait from Ash Wednesday to January 6th for one of the city's favorite treats. Typically a wreath of cinnamon-layered bread, King Cake can be stuffed with cream cheese, strawberry jam, almond paste and other delights. Plain or filled, it's then topped with a white icing and sanding sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. Inside the cake hides a tiny plastic baby.
All over the city, officemates take turns bringing in cakes from different bakeries. If they follow the tradition, whoever finds “the baby” buys the next cake. Before plastic babies, an uncooked red bean was used when the pastry first came to New Orleans in 1870.
Subscribe to the Know Small Parts Newsletter and get Chapter 2 – Breaking Down the Scene of my book as my gift to you!
Now, people host King Cake parties where guests bring offerings from various bakeries so everyone can sample favorites without committing to whole King Cakes. It's become another great excuse for a seasonal gathering.
My favorites are the Manny Randazzo King Cakes and Robért Fresh Market's Almond Wedding King Cake. (You may notice I favor a white icing with sprinkles pictured above over the classic 3-color sanding sugar). People are pretty serious about these pastries, lining up at 5am for more popular versions like those from James Beard Award winners, Don Phuong Bakery. All Don Phuong King Cakes are currently available for shipping by wait list only. Manny's has already sold out of all shipping options, and Fat Tuesday's still a month away. Robért's is a grocery bakery so the treats go for about half the price and are still available for shipping.
Mardi Gras Trees
While people in the rest of the country are taking tinsel off trees and setting them by the curb, many in New Orleans convert Christmas trees to Carnival trees.
Get a subscription to the Writing Unblocked Newsletter and get the Writing Unblocked ebook as my gift to you!
My tree goes from dainty hand-made Sculpey Clay ornaments to an explosion of Carnival madness. No branch is left undecorated. As I hang the Krewe medallions, plushie toys, and other trinkets caught from parade floats, I relive those moments and get excited for the season ahead.
The tree has a practical purpose as well. Like a lot of people here, we come home from most parades with bags and bags of beads and throws and no time to sort through any of it before heading back out to collect more. Under the tree provides a place to dump all the goodies. And unlike a random pile by the door, it becomes more beautiful as it grows.
Mardi Gras Balls
There are basically 2 kinds of Balls during the season – the ones thrown by the Krewe members that ride in the parade floats, and the ones thrown by other organizations.
Want to know who pays for Mardi Gras?
The elaborate Krewe Balls can feature live music from popular acts like Diana Ross, Carrie Underwood, Pitbull, and this year's Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. Held in gargantuan venues like the Superdome or the Convention Center, the Balls kick into gear when the floats and bands arrive from the route and parade through.
My first Mardi Gras Ball was Endymion Extravaganza, an epic party-til-dawn. After riding in the Krewe of Orpheus Monarch float with Quentin Tarantino, we all rode into the Orpheuscapade – another all-night celebration.
Endymion Extravaganza, Orpheus with Quentin Tarantino
Blush Ball
As many of you know, I parade with the Pussyfooters, a dance krewe of over 100 women over-30 wearing pink wigs and corsets with white combat boots. Our group participates in around 50 events per year. But we only host one.
Blush Ball features a grand ballroom with live music, another room with a dance floor and DJ music, and 100 pinktastic hosts. There's a silent auction, dance performances, photo booths, food trucks, and more.
Like a lot of kids, I dreamed of going to a fancy Ball wearing a magical dress that made me feel like a princess. As a grown woman, I love hosting and attending the party, but I get a real thrill from the "big check" moment. Since 2011, Blush Ball's proceeds have benefitted Metro Centers for Community Advocacy, a domestic violence non-profit. This year's contribution takes our collective total to over HALF A MILLION DOLLARS!
Not a bad way to start celebrating the Pussyfooters' 25th anniversary of being founded. We’ll be publicly debuting our silver-anniversary-inspired uniforms in the Krewes of Cleopatra, Carrollton, Muses, Tucks and Okeanos.
Subscribe to the Know Small Parts Newsletter and get Chapter 2 – Breaking Down the Scene of my book as my gift to you!
Vicarious thrills
As Carnival Historian and float designer, Henri Schindler said of Carnival, “It never ends. For the entire year, you’re either preparing for it, experiencing it or remembering it.”
If you can get to New Orleans but you can't make it between Jan. 6 and Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras World offers a year-round Carnival experience.
The Historic New Orleans Collection is free to the public and contains a treasure trove of old photos and films from Carnivals past – as far back as the late 1800's.
My first full Carnival season was when the Saints won the Super Bowl DURING Mardi Gras. The city exploded in joy. It was easily one of the most magical moments in the history of partying and celebration. I did my best to capture the vibe in the first of my 5-book mystery series, The Secret of the Other Mother: A Charlotte Reade Mystery.
Watch online! You can now watch our parades online from a variety of outlets. NOLA.com broadcasts from most major parades throughout the season on their website and YouTube channel.
Enjoy the season and I hope to see you when I’m parading with the Pussyfooters!
Comments ()