We’re about six days away from the big day down here and things are ratcheting up for the final few days of Mardi Gras. I’ve been keeping up with the national news media’s portrayal of carnival season and once again it’s strippers, Bourbon Street, drunk tourists, flashers, trash, and beads. That’s like writing an article about the Super Bowl that focuses on a few tailgate parties.
Given that we’re six months in to about 10 years worth of hurricane recovery down here, and given that New Orleans is a well-loved but misunderstood place, and given that Mardi Gras is one of the most misunderstood things about New Orleans, I thought this thread might be useful. So ask away - - king cakes, beads, babies, ladders, parades, ball masques, etc. - - all’s fair game.
So what is the state of things in New Orleans? Is the Mardi Gras festival being supported externally, so to speak, or has the local economy and social structure recovered enough to support it by itself? I’ve never been to New Orleans, so I don’t know what was normal before the storm.
Man, first three questions and I’m going to give wishy washy answers - - keep in mind that I have four children (12, 9, 6, and 4) so I don’t get out to many of the clubs or hang with folks who might be Cosmic Debris.
I don’t know about the status of Checkpoint Charlie’s. That part of town didn’t flood, so the odds are good that the buidling is intact, but I got a disconnected/no longer in service when I tried dialing their number. Sorry.
I am in a krewe, but it doesn’t parade, so I’m not going to march in any parades or ‘parades’.
Finally, no, I’ve not seen Zombie! Vs. Mardi Gras. What’s it like?
Cool thread! I have two images in my mind of Mardi Gras … the first is from reading too many romance novels set in N.O. in the 19th century, where it seems like the really good parts of Mardi Gras are about being in secret societies and having scads of money and throwing the ultimate in elite parties.
The second is my general impresion that these days the whole thing is a civic function that happens in public, which is certainly nice for people like me who aren’t exactly elite secret society material.
But I always wonder if there are still decadent, private celebrations of Mardi Gras. The kind of thing where if you have to ask, you would never in a million years be on the guest list.
New Orleans is in a very precarious situation. Upwards of 75% - 80% of the city flooded, and while some of that water was only a few inches deep, much was several feet deep. Gutting, rebuilding, roofing, sheetrocking, etc., is going on apace, but much of the population is still displaced. It’s taking a long time to get FEMA trailers set up for people, rents are too high for many to afford, and local, state, and federal governments can’t seem to agree on a plan to fix things.
Many city services are only marginally functional and tax revenue is down. Partly this is due to lack of people to pay taxes, part of this is due to many damaged properties being reassessed at lower values, and part of this is due to lack of city workers. For example, many of the parking ticket writers have been laid off, so that source of revenue is largely non-existent. Politically, we are in the beginnings of the elections for mayor. We have one great new candidate, one acceptable candidate, our “chocolate city” incumbent is also running, and then a host of “who dats?” that are likely worse than Mr. Nagin. Hopefully we won’t split the votes between the one good and one acceptable guy and put an incompetent into office.
As for Mardi Gras, it’s been called the largest free show on earth. The krewes pay for the floats, beads, other throws, bands, insurance, and things associated with their parades from an entertainment standpoint. None accept corporate sponsors, but fund their parades and other activities through dues. The city pays for police to provide security and traffic control and pays for street sweeping and clean up.
Under normal circumstances the city makes a profit from Mardi Gras given the number of tourists (city sales taxes, parking tickets, hotel taxes, etc.). This year we don’t have the revenue in-hand to pay the police and street cleaners, so we’ve sought corporate assistance for the city. Thus far Glad has agreed to provide some trash bags and a little money, but no big sponsor has materialized. To help reduce city expenditures, the parades in New Orleans are running on fewer days and along just one route.
So we’re going ahead with the celebration despite our troubles and are hoping that we can either generate enough revenue to cover the city’s expenses. Hopefully we’ll be on more solid footing for next year.
The best muff sandwich in town - - heated or not - - comes from Central Grocery on Decatur street. Three years ago I would have said Progress Grocery on Decatur, but it was sold and became Luigi’s Fine Foods (though they kept the sandwich maker and his recipes) but sadly it closed a few months after being renamed.
Said to be the worst film ever made. I shot two scenes (the ‘Ritual’ and ‘Apartment’ scenes) and I went to high school with the guy who made it. He has a tendency to put rather obscure references in his films. Zombie! is, as he said in a Film Threat interview, ‘cinema of the absurd’. It’s not meant to be taken seriously; something apparently missed by most of the critics. IMDb User Comments run about 50-50 love it/hate it. I caught most of the Jean-Luc Godard references, Blue Dog, the The Exorcist reference, and the insanity of the bead collectors during Mardi Gras. I liked the Pudgy Ninja and the music. A commentator from New York said it broke ‘all rules of linear storytelling’, upon which Galileo comments in the film. I still laugh. The transfer is very poor – murky – and some of the shots go on too long. You really need to know Godard’s films and something about New Orleans to get it. Also, there are some bits where you have to be paying attention or you’ll miss something.
ISTR that they would FedEx sandwiches. Too bad it’s closed. I meant to go there on mynext trip. I have jars of muffuletta salad from Trader Joe’s in the cupboard, only bread is off the diet at the moment.
There are lots of krewes and lots of private parties, and yes, if you don’t know people in the krewe you’re probably not going to get an invitation. As for decadent, that depends on the krewe. For example, the gay bondage krewe - - Lords of Leather - - party is rather decadent. I’m sure that there are others equally if not more so than theirs.
Other krewe parties are the height of high society - - guests either not in white tie/tails or not in evening gowns are denied entry even with an invitation - - and the krewes are stratified by income and other features. Many of these clubs don’t parade, but have an elaborate bal masque where the krewe are costumed and masked, krewe daughters in their junior year of high school and junior year of college are presented (white gowns, pearls), one of the college juniors is selected queen, one of the krewe is selected king (or in the case of the oldest organizations as Momus, Comus, or Proteus whose identities are kept secret from all outside the krewe), and a pageant is put on followed by a dinner dance. The closer to Mardi Gras your bal masque, the more prestegious your krewe.
Central Grocery probably could hook you up with some green olive relish and maybe even a sandwich. However, the bread is rather key to the taste of the sandwich. Keep in mind, though, that muff sandwiches - - actually all foods and beverages - - don’t count against your diet on Mardi Gras day.