Happy Mardi Gras

I've decided I would connect all of my blogs with the theme of Mardi Gras. Each one will cover Mardi Gras in the sense of how it connects to New Orleans.

This image is a drawing I did many years ago. It was just a doodle and then it turned into this elaborate piece of art on a little piece of paper. I want to try and redo it on a larger piece of paper. Maybe I'll even put it on canvas.

Mardi Gras is as big of a deal to some New Orleanians as is Christmas or Halloween to others. This photograph represents a home in a which someone probably belongs to one of the Mardi Gras organizations.

      In New Orleans the Carnival season begins on January 6. It is also known as Twelfth Night. The season comes to a close on Fat Tuesday, but in between there are parties, balls, parades and fun.

            Mardi Gras in New Orleans is something everyone should experience at least once. There is nothing like it anywhere else. The entire city gets involved. The Krewe - this is the organization that puts together a specific parade. They select a theme and then sketches are created to bring that idea to life in the form of a float. The number of floats that will be a part of the parade depends on the number or members. Some parades have as little as ten floats and the larger Krewe’s can have up to 30 or more.

Some of the Krewes throw unique items, such as this stuffed animal.

The floats started out as paper mache coverings over wagon bases. As time went on and technology progressed so did the artist value of these floats. As newer Krewes came on to the scene fresher ideas were introduced and by the early 70’s something known as the Super Krewe was created. Endymion and Bacchus began the competition to see who would put on the better show.

Night time Parade goers throw their hands up for beads. "Throw me somethin' Mister." is the signature phrase. The beads that were thrown from the floats were once made out of glass and over time they were made out of plastic. It was a little less dangerous. Some terminology to know: Krewe beads are beads that have a medallion with the Krewe's name on it. Doubloons are coins with information about the Krewe. The theme of the parade, the year and if you're lucky you made get a special dabloon from the king, captain or one of the co captains. Some organizations have doubloons representing the Mardi Gras colors, purple, green and gold. Purple represents Justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. I'll be writing on the main blog about Mardi Gras ending on Tuesday just as it all comes to an end. I will include some of my favorite images and the stories behind them.

Find out more at http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind.