Mobile and the Gulf Coast

Dauphin Island Mardi Gras parade Saturday

2006-01-27T06:48:00.000-08:00

Dauphin Island's Krewe de la Dauphine will present its Mardi Gras parade Saturday with the theme "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up."

The group has designed nine floats celebrating several admirable and not-so-admirable vocations -- beach bum, pirate, firefighter, flight attendant and shrimper, among others.

The krewe put the parade together despite the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the island Aug. 29. Three families among the krewe lost their homes, said Jake Simms, one of the krewe's parade organizers.

Click the title link for the rest of the story from The Mobile Register.

Mobile Mardi Gras ads a rarity

2006-01-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

A new $85,000 television and radio campaign touts Mobile's "family friendly" Mardi Gras in hopes of enticing visitors from regional cities such as Baton Rouge, La., Montgomery and Destin, Fla., according to the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The campaign is the first of its kind for the bureau, which hopes to use the ads to fill hotel rooms along Beltline Highway, according to bureau President Leon Maisel.

"We rarely market Mardi Gras because we're booked," Maisel said. "It'd be like marketing the sun coming up."

Click the title link to read the rest of the article from the Mobile Register.

Look Out Mobile

2006-01-25T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is an organization for new Mobilians. You can learn about the city and get to know other people who are new to the area. They have a great site. Click on the title link to go there and find out all the happenings.

They are having a Mardi Gras party soon. Here are some of the details. You can get all the information by visiting their site. You have to RSVP to attend so if you are interested go to their site and click on the RSVP link.

Mr. Jim's Cannon Brew Pub Presents Lookout Mobile's Mardi Gras Meet and Greet

You're invited to come celebrate Lookout Mobile's 3rd birthday and kick off the Mardi Gras season in downtown Mobile, AL. Join us on the 3rd floor of Mr. Jim's Cannon Brew Pub for this private party on Saturday, Feb. 4.

What to bring:

$5 per person for food (heavy hors d'oeuvres) and $2.50 per pint of beer.
Mardi Gras beads and costume.
a friend (optional)

Saturday, Feb. 4, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Mr. Jim's Cannon Brew Pub
225 Dauphin Street (LoDa)
Mobile, AL 36602
(251) 432-7556

**Door Prizes are back by popular demand!**

All black Mardi Gras krewe makes history in Mobile

2006-01-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

For the first time ever, an all black Mardi Gras crew will parade through downtown Mobile on a Saturday night.

(Mobile, Ala.) January 17 - For the first time ever, an all black Mardi Gras Krew will parade through downtown Mobile on a Saturday night.

The Conde Explorers, which currently has more than 150 members, will roll on parade route "A" February 11th at 6:30p.m. WBLX radio personality "Ray-Ray" will serve as the parade's Grand Marshall. The theme will be "70's & 80's Greatest Hits."

In the past, the Conde Explorers nor the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA) has held a primetime parade schedule. Marching bands from LeFlore, Williamson, Vigor, and Davidson High Schools have already made commitments to participate in the parade. Many other local and regional groups plan to attend.

The Conde Explorers was established in May 2003. It started with 20 people.

Click the title link to watch the video from WPMI-TV.

Mammoth Parade moves back to The Avenue

2006-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

The Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association's Mammoth Parade is returning to The Avenue on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The Mobile Police Department and Mayor Sam Jones approved the parade route expansion request that includes Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, where the parade traveled until about 12 years ago.

Also the parade will have a 2 p.m. start time this year instead of the usual 3 p.m. start, officials said.

Click the title link to read the rest of the story.

Krewe du Vieux says 'C'est Levee'

2006-01-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Krewe du Vieux says 'C'est Levee'
Krewe du Vieux, the first harbinger of the Mardi Gras parade season, will roll Feb. 11 on its annual satirical parade through the Marigny and French Quarter, the the theme 'C'est Levee.'

The bawdy krewe, composed of 17 subkrewes, will roll under the reign of King Walter 'Mr. Bill' Williams. KDV, which scoffs at political correctness, is infamous for its roasts of local VIPs, politics, traditions and just about any available target.

Audience warning: This parade, one of only two to march through the Quarter (the other is the dog parade Barkus), is not for those of tender years or the easily offended. With subkrewes like the Krewe of LEWD and the Mystic Krewe of Spermes . . . well, you get the picture.

And here's the official announcement, straight from the krewe's Poobah of Publicity:

New Orleans has learned a lot this past year. We’ve learned new meanings for “open house” and “waterfront property”. We’ve learned that there are nine different types of mold and they all smell worse than a Congressional appropriations committee. We’ve learned that sometimes you can’t help but sleep on the wet spot. We’ve learned that FEMA’s just another word for nothing left to lose. And all because the Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t know the London Avenue dike from a Bourbon Street dyke.
Now the highest spot in town is the Lakeview Alps. The Superdoom turns out to have a semi-retractable roof. MR GO is hopefully MR GONE for good; too bad he took Chalmette and the Ninth Ward with him. And if you’re looking for leadership in the middle of this mess, well, happy hunting – just remember to vote whenever we finally get around to having an election.

Faced with this rising tide of disaster, in true New Orleans fashion Krewe du Vieux says, “C’est Levee”. Life’s a breach, and sometimes you just gotta go with the contraflow. So pop a cold one (pop a looter too if you have to), torch the nearest mound of trash and roast some weenies, and pretend that convoy of National Guard hummers rolling by is just another parade.

Speaking of parades, Krewe du Vieux will storm the city on Saturday, February 11, at 7:00 PM, surging through Faubourg Marigny and the French Quarter with an unusual mix of floats, FEMA trailers, brass bands, army brass, brassy broads, and brass balls.

Leading the soggy celebration will be New Orleans environmentalist and comedian Walter Williams, creator of “Mr. Bill” of Saturday Night Live fame. As Mr. Bill knows much more about flood protection than Mr. Bush or Mr. Brown, the Krewe considers its 2006 king a true wet dream. King Walter, himself a man of many breaches, will help the Krewe keep its finger in a dyke.

The projected path of this year’s parade (see attached route map) will end up with landfall at the State Palace Theater, 1108 Canal Street for the annual Krewe du Vieux Do. Doors open at 8:00 PM, with the show starting at 9:00 PM. Providing the music this year will be Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, with The Claim Jumpers (featuring Mike Hood and Michael Sklar with special guest Coco Robichaux) opening and a late night set by Juice and special guests. Tickets are $20 per person, available at the Louisiana Music Factory, 210 Decatur Street; Miss Claudia’s Vintage Clothes and Costume Shop, 4204 Magazine Street; and Up in Smoke, 4507 Magazine Street.

The Krewe du Vieux’s seventeen subkrewes will each present their own free-flowing, tree-floating, muckraking, trash-talking, trash-burning, Bush-burning, FEMA-gated interpretations of the theme. Subkrewes include the Krewe of C.R.U.D.E., Krewe of Space Age Love, Krewe of Underwear, Seeds of Decline, Krewe of Mama Roux, Krewe of L.E.W.D., Krewe of Drips and Discharges, Krewe of K.A.O.S. Knights of Mondu, T.O.K.I.N., Krewe Rue Bourbon, Krewe de C.R.A.P.S., Krewe of PAN, Mystic Krewe of Spermes, Krewe of Comatose, Mystic Krewe of Inane, and Krewe du Mishigas.

Also marching will be many of the city’s top brass bands. Showcasing the local brass band talent is one of the few Krewe du Vieux traditions not currently waiting for a FEMA trailer or being rejected by insurance company maladjustors.

The Krewe du Vieux is a non-profit organization dedicated to the historical and traditional concept of a Mardi Gras parade as a venue for individual creative expression and satirical comment. It is unique among all Mardi Gras parades because it alone carries on the old Carnival traditions, by using decorated, hand or mule-drawn floats with satirical themes, accompanied by costumed revelers dancing to the sounds of jazzy street musicians. We believe in exposing the world to the true nature of Mardi Gras -- and in exposing ourselves to the world.

For more information about the Krewe du Vieux parade, or to schedule an interview with King Walter Williams, please contact Keith Twitchell, Poobah of Publicity, at (504) 943-7970.

Click the title link to go to nola.com

Mardi Gras and Cigars in Mobile, AL 2004

2006-01-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras and Cigars in Mobile, AL
March 13, 2004

Cigar Weekly member Todd Crandall (sevenmag) attended the lesser known Mardi Gras festivities in Mobile, AL, where Mardi Gras in America actually started. Here he presents us with a review of the parades and the cigars he enjoyed while attending.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I always take a cigar to the Mardi Gras Parades, usually not anything of any real dollar value, it's a hectic evening and sometimes you just have to toss the thing because there's just to much going on. But some nights when I know the crowd will be big and I need to get there early, I will grab a favorite.

This is Mobile's Mardi Gras, a family oriented version. The one I grew up with and love dearly. This is easily my favorite time of year.

Friday, February 7: Conde Cavaliers
Founded in 1977, the Conde Cavaliers is a young Crewe, but have quickly grown into one of the largest parading societies. Founded as a way for a workingman to join a Crewe that had no way to inherit a membership in any of the old groups. Now they have 13 themed floats and the three usual Emblem floats. This years theme was "Games People Play" with the Olympics, Casino gaming and Monopoly represented, just to name a few.

As usual the Cavaliers did a great job of starting things off. Sixteen big floats loaded with drunk maskers that were throwing plenty of goodies. The emblem floats never change; the Cavalier Express is a train, the float with the Conde Cavalier Emblem complete with a rearing horse who's testicles are gold leafed. And he's ridden by a Cavalier. Then there's the Joe Cain Coal Wagon. After that the theme floats come by. All were spectacular. Overall a great parade.

On the Mag scale of 5 thumbs up I give it 4

On the way out the door I grabbed a connie #9m out of a bundle I bought in early 2001.

Age had been a friend to this cigar. It was great, rich chocolate and toasty flavors along just a hint of black pepper. I hope most of this bundle are even close to what this smoke was. I'll be working them over pretty heavy over the next two weeks or so and I could be in for a real treat.

Friday, February 13: Order of Inca
Founded in 1956 the Incas have great looking emblem floats with the Inca Sun God and all the riders with large feathered headdresses. Callouts at the Ball are a real treat with Sun God all dressed in Gold and a headdress that rivals the trains on some of the Royal Family's wedding gowns. These are my favorite of them all.

Back to the parade. You would think that with all that dusty Old Mobile money these guys could spring for a few of the new larger floats. Even so the ones they had were done well and they took full advantage of their parade date falling on Friday the 13th. They themed the parade "Superstitions" and had floats with all things scary on them. Nine of them, and of course the three emblem floats bringing the total to 12. The only real knock on these guys is that they don't throw much. So I'm only giving them three thumbs up.

The cigar that night was an Alec Bradley HSG. Toro. I like these cigars. Well made and a good value. A solid medium/full cigar with a light brown Sun Grown wrapper. Good core of sweetness and some pepper to go along with it. It turned out to be a good choice, a nice strong cigar on a cold windy night.

Saturday, February 14: Maids of Mirth and Neptune Daughter's
The Parades that usually run at this point in the yearly schedule (the parades fall in the same order every year) were rained out and moved to Sunday. They are reviewed in the order that they ran.

Sunday, February 15: Order of the Pharoahs
The Pharaohs ran their 19th parade on Sunday afternoon. Another very young society, and they are still parading like it. Small floats with little coming off them. They need to take some lessons from some other Crewes that have been at it even less time. They get a whopping single thumb for this years efforts.

On Sunday night the rescheduled Maids of Mirth celebrated their 55th year with a theme I liked: "Celebrations South of the Salt line". The theme floats were built around all of our local festivals. A great idea being that Mardi Gras is Mobile's oldest festival. They have two emblem floats followed by 7 theme floats. This is one of three, of what I'd call the older all female societies, and they act like they know what they're doing. Even being re-scheduled they still did a good job of making sure we all went home with plenty of worthless junk. That's saying a lot, as usually they have all day to get wound up and whiskied up and then there's a ball to go to. But not on a rain out day. Just for that they get four big thumbs.

Immediately following them was another one of the all female groups" Neptune's Daughters". They've been around less than 10 years, they lease floats from the Conde Cavaliers but it's still fun to catch some more beads and other goodies. It helps make the parade longer. With only 9 floats in the first parade they add a few extra at the end. I'll give them four thumbs up, because it's been a while since I've seen that much stuff coming off floats.

I didn't take a cigar with me that night. It was wet and threatening rain. I probably could have gotten one in but it would have been a job just to keep it lit.

Monday, February 16: Crewe of Marry Mates and Mystical Ladies
The next night was another pair of short parades, hosted by young societies. Two groups of leased floats, some Inca and some Conde Cavalier. The Crewe of Marry Mates (a society of Married Couples) and The Mobile Mystical ladies. Each society has only been around for about 10 years, but they try hard to make sure we all have a good time. Putting the two parades together is a good idea for them. I'll give this pair a three.

It was just too friggin cold to smoke one and enjoy it that night. The season fell early this year so the cold has been a problem.

Tuesday, February 17: Order of La She and Order of Venus
Next up is another pair of babies in the Mardi Gras world: The "La She's" along with the "Order of Venus". More leased floats from the gals of Venus, but the La She's own their own. Two emblem floats and 13 theme floats, and the theme was "Somewhere In Time". Having 15 total floats have put them in the same size range as some of the old guard. They've also earned a reputation as good throwers. They get a good score of four.

The cigar of the night was a Torano Exodus gold perfecto. These guys know how handle the H2k wrapper. A great looking, oily leaf to be sure. Another solid performer from Torano. Loads of smoke, and a solid ash along with a perfect burn. Wonderful flavors in this cigar included cocoa, vanilla, a slight herbal flair and a nice amount of spice. I finally had to toss it when I couldn't hold it without burning myself. Remember, I'm at a Mardi Gras parade and I can't really watch what I'm doing with a really short nub. So they get tossed at about the 1 to 1.5 inch mark. This one was the best of the group up to that point.

Thursday, February 19: Mystic Stripers Society
Thursday night officially kicks off the parades that are generally referred to as the big ones. This one is the "Mystic Stripers Society", founded 65 years ago and trademarked with the striped emblem floats. The Tiger, the Zebra and The King Striper float which is followed by the Anniversary float that's full of convict attired maskers, and let's not forget the Title float with the theme "MSS Declares War". Eleven theme floats came by depicting scenes from battles like Waterloo and Midway. Another wonderful parade from the Mystic Striper's who also know how to fill the bags of children of all ages. The first perfect score.

The cigar for the this parade was an Oliva "O" Ole. The robusto of the line. I've had the box for about two years, and they've aged wonderfully. This cigar was wrapped in a beautiful dark brown Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper from Oliva Farms. One of the best wrappers around IMO. It produced loads of rich flavorful smoke. Strong, sweet and with a hint of citrus and herbs. A delight to my Lower Alabama redneck palette. Perfect burn even on a cool windy night. When it hit the street along with the other stuff nobody wanted to pick up it was completely spent. Not even a BigO toothpick could have salvaged anymore of it. It's no wonder these are some of my favorite cigars.

Friday, February 20: Crewe of Columbus
Friday night saw Mardi Gras get into full swing big time when the "Crewe of Columbus" took their 83rd trip through the streets of downtown Mobile. Founded in 1922 the COC has 6 trademark floats. Three depict the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, then the Crew's emblem float with a big globe rotating in the center, and that's followed by the title float. The most spectacular of the 6 is Isabella the three headed 50 foot long sea monster. Right behind her are the theme floats. This year they represented "Friday Night at the Drive Inn." with movies like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Godzilla, Ben Hur and my favorite of the night "Creature from the Black Lagoon". Of course there were others, 13 total. Add the emblems and that made for ample chances to fill a big bag with trinkets and Moon Pies. And believe me, they threw plenty of them. The best parade of the year so far. This Crew gets an easy five.

My smoking experience didn't live up to the parade. I started out with a La Escepcion IV Tapa Negra 48. This cigar had little to no discernable flavors. I hung with it until I got past the little Maduro strip on the foot. I really didn't have much hope for it to start with, it just seemed gimicky to put those strips on what was a really good cigar in the first three series. I thought it might pick up once I got past the maduro foot but it didn't come around. So I pitched it. I think I'll just stick to the old ones.

Fortunately I took a backup with me. A Floridita from Costa Rica given to me by my buddy Stogie5150. A toro sized boxpressed cigar with a medium brown tissue thin wrapper. There's a story behind these but I can't remember it. I'm pretty sure it's a Don Douglas product that was originally blended to be a Bahia. I do know they were selling them in bundles for a bit, and now they're gone. That's a shame too, I really enjoyed this one. A straight forward medium bodied smoke with a good profile. It falls into that old catagory "One dimensional, but a good dimension". Sweet and rich and a good long finish. It took some touch ups and a couple of re-lights but overall an enjoyable cigar. I'd like to have more.

Saturday, February 21: Mystics of Time
Saturday was the big night for the "Mystics of Time". In just 56 years they've become easily the favorite parade of the year. Due in large part to Vernadean, Verna and Dean. Three long serpentine dragons that weave their way through the streets, coming right up to the crowd and blowing smoke on everyone. They also throw beads with dragons on them and those are probably the most popular throw of the year. This year's theme was "Lost Civilizations in Time". Easter Island, Nirvana, Atlantis and Knossos were just a few that were represented, with 13 in all. Combined with the three dragons and two emblem floats with Father Time in his usual position on top of the clock gave us 18 to enjoy and catch throws from. As usual though, either Vernadean, Verna or Dean broke down and stopped the parade for a while but this happens every year. Overall another great effort from boys of the MOT. Four thumbs.

The cigar for the parade was a CAO MX2. It was the first one I've had, my buddy spiridon brought it to me from the RTDA. I liked this one and it was a good choice for the night. The wrapper was closer to oscuro than maduro and not the prettiest leaf I've ever seen. But that wasn't a problem, it tasted and smoked great. A good medium bodied cigar with loads of flavor. Maybe not the most complex in the world but enough going on to keep my interest. My only complaint would be that it was just to sweet. But I'd smoke more of them. If you like sweeter cigars these are the ticket.

Sunday, February 22: Joe Cain Precession
This is the best story about a parade yet. Sunday was the "Joe Cain Precession" named after Joe Cain, the man that revived Mardi Gras in the Port City. It originated here in 1703 and went through many changes over the years leading up to the Civil War, which brought it to an end (at least temporarily). In 1866, Joe, who was unhappy with the Reconstruction occupation of Federal troops, dressed up as a Chickasaw war chief named Slacabamorinico. He rolled about town on a charcoal wagon, raising all sorts of Cain. (Yes, that's how the phrase originated) Him and his buddies tossed small trinkets at the feet of the Federal soldiers and Mardi Gras was reborn here in Mobile. The following year in 1867 a formal parade was organized for Shrove Tuesday and it's been going on ever since. The review of this year's edition of that parade is coming up.

Now the Joe Cain Parade is basically about 30 busses, semi's and large flatbeds loaded down with maskers. Each one is it's own so called mystic society with names like Order of Pie and Knights of Daze, all throwing all the usual goodies. It's a big day with a family fair, the parade, a race and several other events going on downtown. It's a fun parade but it's far removed from the usual ones. Given that I'm not going to rate it, but we had a great time as usual.

The crowd is so big and since we had to get there early, I knew I'd have time to enjoy a good cigar before the parade started. So I grabbed a San Cristobal La Fuerza. A good choice, everything you want out of a good Cuban cigar. Tons of flavor, complexity, and just the right amount of strength. At about the half way point the flavors seemed to explode. I didn't think it was possible but the flavors just suddenly became more intense. What a great cigar, it was a shame when that set of beads knocked the nub out of my mouth. Good thing it was all but done anyway.

Monday, February 23: Infant Mystics
Every once in a great while I get lucky. Tonight was one of those nights. We decided to take a chance and brave the rain for the Infant Mystics parade. They were founded in 1868 and are one of the oldest Mystic Societies. Well the rain held out just long enough to get them past us and there were so few people it was like our own private parade. It's a rare treat but if you want to take advantage of an opportunity like that you've got to take your chances with the weather. Tonight it paid off big time. The only problem is the bands pull out, so there's no break between floats, and that's when I check them out. So my review of this parade will be lacking. The theme was good: "The Wonders of Our Waterways", but them I'm always partial to any theme with a local flavor. Every float showed us something about our local bays and Gulf Coast. I'll have to hold off on any rating but it's not because they don't deserve one. I was so busy with Little Mag catching stuff that I just didn't give everything the attention it was due.

I started not to take a cigar at all tonight because of the weather and we waited until the last minute to leave so I didn't think I'd be able to get a smoke in. I changed my mind on the way out the door and grabbed a Romeo y Julieta TPC of unknown year. Not the prettiest wrapper I've ever seen, and it wasn't the best TPC I've ever smoke either. It wasn't bad but usually these are much better than this one. This example was just flat and didn't have the usual depth of flavors and strength that you can expect from this vitola. Could be from the 00 crop that just didn't produce many good cigars.

Tuesday, February 24: Order of Athena, Knights of Revelry, Comic Cowboys and Order of Myths
It finally came to an end today. The festivities started out with the "Order of Athena" just as they have for the last 50 years. We always get a little bonus from the Athenas, when they finish their brunch they do a procession on foot to the float loading. It's a nice touch and a good way to get things started. Luckily where I've been setting up camp for nearly 20 years is on the 5-block stretch they take. Once the parade got started, it was a perfect example of Mobile Mardi Gras at its finest. I love their emblem float with Athena in her chariot being pulled by two huge smoke breathing cobras. The theme was "I love a Parade" with all sorts of parades being represented. I gotta say, this is my favorite of the women's Crewes. I'm giving them a four.

Next up were the "Knights of Revelry". They ran today for the 130th time. Their emblem float is my all time favorite. A jester rides high atop the float in a champagne glass, and chases death by beating the float with inflated pig bladders. The jester's name is "Folly" and he chases death and all other evil spirits away with all the noise he makes with the bladders. One day I'm gonna catch a set of them. Their theme was a Salute to Dr. Seuss. All the kids favorites came by today and these guys were doing all they could to make sure we all had plenty of Moon Pies, beads and candy to bring home. One of their best efforts in years. An easy four thumbs up.

Right on their heels were the "Comic Cowboys". Founded in 1868 this group is completely different than any other Mystic Society. They don't build the big elaborate floats, they use old flatbeds with wooden signs and roast all the local and national celebrities. Stabs at all the usual suspects were there, Alabama, Auburn, Local politicians and a few at Michael and Janet Jackson. A few I caught myself laughing out loud at. They even took a couple of shots at the new California Governor. The members of the Comic Cowboys don't ride in their own parade. They hire others to do it. Anonymity is a big tradition with those guys.

Tonight, if the rain holds out, will the "Order of Myths". Founded in 1867 it's our oldest parading Crewe. I won't be able to give you a review since I'll be at home for that one. They run an old traditional route different from all the others. Their emblem float has a Jester and a Skeleton, Folly chasing Death. The Jester chases the Skeleton around a broken pillar. The Broken pillar of life. It's the Grand Finale of Carnival here. Overall another great season, but I'm glad it's over. I need some rest.

I got in two cigars today, both were stellar. I started off with a RyJ Ex. #4 from 00. A great start for the day. Full bodied and rich. Exactly what I expect from the Romeo y Julieta brand. After that was a PAM. Maybe the best cigar I smoked during the whole season. Perfect burn, great flavors and complexity. Could be as much to do with the fact that the weather had started to improve and I was really enjoying the day downtown with my family and friends.

I hope everyone enjoyed the reviews as much as I've enjoyed sharing the season. I smoked cigars that would fit anyone's tastes and enjoyed almost all of them. Just goes to show you there's a cigar for every mood, occasion and situation. I think I'll try doing this again next year.

This is from an interesting site called Cigar Weekly. You can click on the title link to go there.

The 2006 Rex Procession - New Orleans

2006-01-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

The 2006 Rex Procession: “Beaux Arts and Letters”
Tuesday, February 28, 2005
New Orleans, Louisiana

1. Rex, King of Carnival, Monarch of Merriment Rex’s float carries the King of
Carnival and his pages through the streets of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day.

2. His Majesty’s Bandwagon A band rides on this permanent float to provide
music for Rex and for those who greet him on the parade route.

3. The King’s Jesters Even the Monarch of Merriment needs jesters in his court.
Rex’s jesters dress in Mardi Gras colors—purple, green, and gold.

4. The Boeuf Gras This is one of the oldest symbols of Mardi Gras, symbolizing
the great feast on the day before Lent begins.

5. Title Float: “Beaux Arts and Letters” While Rex Processions of past years
have presented the history and culture of far-flung civilizations, this year’s theme
explores the joys and beauties of Rex’s own empire and domain. New Orleans
has a long and rich artistic history and has produced a wealth of artists and
writers of national and international renown. Sculptors and painters, writers and
poets have called New Orleans home, and have found inspiration for their work
in her history, culture, and landscapes. Mardi Gras, the celebration unique to
this city, has influenced the work of many of our artists and writers.

6. John James Audubon (1785-1851) Audubon, the pre-eminent American
painter of birds and wildlife, was born in Haiti and came to America at age
eighteen, living in Pennsylvania and Kentucky before traveling south with little
more than his gun and his painting equipment. He arrived in New Orleans in
1821, living for a time at 701 Barracks St. where he painted and taught drawing.
He worked for several years in the Felicianas, especially at Oakley plantation. He
is best known for his great work, “Birds of America.”

7. Robert Tallant “Voodoo” (1909-1957) Born and educated in New Orleans,
Robert Tallant is best known for a series of books and articles describing the
history and culture of New Orleans. As an editor working with the Louisiana
Writers’ Project for the WPA he helped write “Gumbo Ya-Ya,” which described
the rich folklore of New Orleans. “Voodoo” was one of his later books, a detailed
(if somewhat sensational) exploration of this interesting part of New Orleans
culture. He also taught English at Newcomb College and wrote for the New
Orleans Item.

8. George Ohr (1857-1918) Sometimes called “the mad potter of Biloxi,” George
Edgar Ohr learned many of his potting skills in New Orleans before returning to
Biloxi to create the unique pots he called his “mud babies.” He claimed the
motto “no two alike,” and his style of pinched and twisted forms produced art
pottery which was not really valued during his lifetime. Thousands of his pots
were left in boxes to be discovered many years after his death. This unique artist
and his work are honored in the recently founded George Ohr Museum in Biloxi,
Mississippi.

9. Perry Young “The Mistick Krewe” This float honors the Mistick Krewe of
Comus on its 150th anniversary, with float elements depicting the Comus cup and
the celebrations of the “Cowbellians,” from which the Mistick Krewe took
inspiration. Perry Young is best known for his 1931 history of Carnival in New
Orleans, “The Mistick Krewe: Chronicles of Comus and His Kin.” In his preface
Young describes Carnival as “a butterfly of winter, whose last mad flight of
Mardi Gras forever ends his glory.”

10. John Kennedy Toole “Confederacy of Dunces” (1937-1969) In his bestknown
work, Toole created a most colorful New Orleans character, Ignatius P.
Reilly. Toole’s description of Reilly begins: “A green hunting cap squeezed the
top of the fleshy balloon of a head….” Toole earned degrees from Tulane and
Columbia Universities and taught English at Dominican College. “A
Confederacy of Dunces” was published after his death through the persistence of
his mother, Thelma Toole, and with the help of Walker Percy. It won the Pulitzer
Prize for fiction in 1980.

11. Louis Andrews Fischer “Living Jewels” (1901-1974) Louis Fischer was given
her father’s name when she was born in Mobile in 1901. An imaginative child
who loved poetry and fanciful fiction (“Alice in Wonderland” was a favorite) she
studied art at Newcomb College. In her Pontalba apartment she designed many
beautiful Carnival parades, including the Rex parades from the 1920’s through
the early 1930’s. One of her most beautiful Rex parades was that of 1930, titled
“The Jewels of Rex,” which inspired this float.

12. Grace King “New Orleans, the Place and the People” (1852-1932) Grace
King was a life-long New Orleanian whose fiction and non-fiction writing helped
the nation and the world better understand post-Civil War New Orleans and the
South. She was well known and respected in national literary circles, and was
proud to call herself, in the title of her autobiography, “A Southern Woman of
Letters.” “New Orleans, the Place and the People,” published in 1895, is her bestknown
non-fiction work, an affectionate and beautifully illustrated history of our
city.

13. Caroline Durieux “Mardi Gras Day” (1896-1989) Caroline Spellman Wogan
Durieux studied art with Ellsworth Woodward at Newcomb College, and later at
the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Prior to teaching art at LSU she was the
director of the Federal Art Project in Louisiana. She is best known for her
humorous and satiric lithographs, many drawing on the characters and culture
of New Orleans. “Mardi Gras Day” is a 1948 compilation of sketches and
drawings by Durieux, Ralph Wickiser, and John McCrady depicting images from
a “typical” Mardi Gras day.

14. The Streetcar Named Desire This permanent float honors the most famous
of all of New Orleans’ streetcar lines.
His Majesty’s Royal Calliope The Rex procession presents a musical interlude
provided by His Majesty’s traditional calliope.

15. Lyle Saxon “Father Mississippi” (1891-1946) Lyle Saxon began his writing
career as a reporter for several New Orleans papers, ending his newspaper career
as one of the Times-Picayune’s most renowned journalists. In 1926 he went to
New York City to write novels, one of which, “Father Mississippi” (1927)
inspired this float. During the WPA years he was Director of the Louisiana
Writer’s Project. A resident of the French Quarter, where his literary circle
included William Faulkner, Saxon also did some of his writing in a cabin at
Melrose Plantation.

16. Enrique Alferez (1901-1999) Enrique Alferez was born in northern Mexico
and divided his time between New Orleans and the land of his birth. A prolific
artist and sculptor, many of his works grace New Orleans’ favorite public spaces,
including the New Orleans Botanical Garden and City Park, and can be found in
many distant cities as well. Mr. Alferez was an energetic and enthusiastic man,
and is remembered as one of New Orleans’ most unique characters. The human
figure inspired many of his drawings and sculptures.

17. Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-1997) Ida Kohlmeyer did not take up painting until she
was in her thirties, but she developed a unique style which made her one of New
Orleans’ favorite and most renowned artists and sculptors. Her first degree from
Newcomb College was in English Literature, but she returned to its art school for
her Master’s Degree. Her work is found in major national museum collections
and graces many homes and public spaces in New Orleans, where she painted
and sculpted nearly every day until her death. New Orleans’ own Ogden
Museum of Southern Art is home to the Ida Kohlmeyer Study Center, which
preserves an extensive Kohlmeyer archive.

18. Bror Anders Wikstrom “Rex 1885-1910” (1854-1909) While Wikstrom is
honored here for his elegant designs for some of the most beautiful of all Rex
parades, he was also a versatile and accomplished painter. Born in Sweden, he
ran away to sea at the age of fourteen, but returned to study painting at the
Swedish Royal Academy. During his 25 years in New Orleans he helped found
the Artists’ Association of New Orleans, taught art and drawing, and was part of
a distinguished circle of artists which included the Woodward brothers.

19.Walker Percy “The Moviegoer” (1916-1990) Walker Percy trained to be a
physician, but contracted tuberculosis when he was twenty-six. Following his
extended confinement, he began to write, exploring the human condition in a
series of novels and non-fiction works. His literary characters were often
engaged in a search for greater meaning in their lives. This was certainly true of
Binx Bolling, an alienated stockbroker, and the moviegoer of this float’s title. Dr.
Percy lived and worked in Covington, Louisiana.

20. William Faulkner “Mosquitoes” (1897-1962) William Faulkner grew up in
Oxford, Mississippi, and lived and worked for many years in New Orleans.
“Mosquitoes” was his second novel, and is not widely read. It takes place on a
yacht in Lake Ponchartrain, and is loosely based on the characters in his literary
circle during his New Orleans years. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in
1949, cited for “his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the American
novel.”

21. Newcomb Pottery Josephine Newcomb’s gift in 1886 encouraged a broad
vision of education “both practical and literary.” This surely was true in the Art
Department, where Ellsworth Woodward and others encouraged the study of art
both as a program of vocational training for young women and the creation of
fine works of art. The Newcomb Pottery, established by Woodward and Mary
Given Sheerer in 1894, exemplified this blend of beauty and function. Newcomb
Pottery became famous for graceful forms, exquisite glazes, and designs drawn
from Louisiana flora. The pottery closed in 1940.

22. Clementine Hunter (1886-1988) Clementine Hunter, one of the south’s most
famous and beloved self-taught artists, was born on a cotton plantation near
Cloutierville, LA. When she was a teenager she moved to the Melrose Plantation
in Cane River country. Melrose was a haven for artists and writers, and Mrs.
Hunter’s creativity with quilts and dolls was noticed and encouraged. She began
to make paintings with leftover materials or paints given to her by the “real”
artists. Her first painting was on a linen window shade. Over her long life she
created more than 4000 “memory paintings,” each telling a story in her clear and
straightforward way.

23. Tennessee Williams “The Glass Menagerie”(1911-1983) Born Thomas Lanier
Williams, III in Columbus, Mississippi, Tennessee Williams was one of America’s
greatest playwrights. He moved to New Orleans in 1939, and wrote “A Streetcar
Named Desire” while living on St. Peter Street. While he lived in New York and
other cities, he always called New Orleans his “spiritual home,” and New
Orleans celebrates his work with the annual Tennessee Williams Festival.
Williams grew up in a conflicted and dysfunctional family, and many of the
characters in his plays mirror the troubled and tumultuous world he knew well.
That is certainly true of the characters in “The Glass Menagerie.

24. Lafcadio Hearn “The Night of All Saints” (1850-1904) Born in Greece,
Lafcadio Hearn was a prolific and colorful writer in New Orleans in the 1880’s.
He wrote for several of the city’s papers, and his descriptions of New Orleans, its
culture and characters, endures for its vividness and wit. In 1889 he went to
Japan, learned Japanese, married a Japanese woman, and became a professor at
the Imperial University. While he is known around the world for his writings
about Japan, his New Orleans period is not as widely studied. “The Night of All
Saints” is one of Hearn’s sketches compiled after his death by Charles Hutson,
and published in 1919 as “Fantastics and other Fancies.”

25. Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965) Anderson was born and spent his early
years in New Orleans. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts, and studied abroad before returning to live and work in Ocean Springs.
During the WPA years he painted murals in public buildings, many of which
survive. He struggled with mental illness throughout his adult life, and lead an
increasingly isolated life. He spent many years going back and forth to Horn
Island, studying the natural world around him and trying to capture it in his
intense and lyric style. These years produced much of the art by which we
remember this remarkable artist.

26. Kate Chopin “Bayou Folk” (1851-1904) Kate O’Flaherty Chopin spent most
of her life in her native St. Louis, but her literary legacy drew on the fourteen
years she lived in Louisiana. At age nineteen she married Oscar Chopin, a cotton
broker, and they lived in New Orleans and Cloutierville, Red River country. She
returned to St. Louis in 1882, a widow with six children, and when she began to
write it was about the Acadians and Creoles with whom she had lived. “Bayou
Folk” was published in 1894, and describes, with colorful use of dialect, the
people and customs of Acadiana.

27. The Royal Barge The Royal Barge is a permanent float, complete with Royal
Gryphon, and brings the Rex Procession of 2005 to a close.

Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe

2006-01-23T18:52:00.000-08:00

Frugal Recipes

Michelle's Meals on a Budget

Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Filling
Copyright 2004 © by Michelle Jones, editor of BetterBudgeting.com

Having lived in Mobile, Alabama for two years, our family had a chance to experience many Mardi Gras parades with moon pies and purple green and gold colored beads (called throws), and the delicious King Cakes offered in all the local bakeries. It was a season of annual family fun we'll never forget.

Although I would not consider this recipe particularly frugal, it is certainly more frugal to make it at home than to order one online! ;o)

(For those of us living outside of Mardi Gras towns, that is. If purchasing a King Cake locally they usually only cost about $5-$6.)

* * *

Please note: King Cake is not like a birthday cake, it's more like a sweet breakfast bread.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 c. plus 1 tsp. sugar
About 4 cups of flour, more or less as needed
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 c. warm milk
5 large egg yolks
1 stick plus 2 T. butter, cut in slices and softened
1 egg slightly beaten with 1 T. of milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tiny plastic doll (about 1 inch in size)

Optional Cream Cheese Filling:

1 8-ounce pkg. cream cheese
1 c. confectioner's sugar
2 T. flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
a few drops of milk

(If filling the cake, cream all the above ingredients together with a mixer and spread onto the rolled-out dough before rolling it into a ring... yum!!)

Cake Directions:

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for several minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set yeast mixture in a warm place for 10 minutes. Combine 3 and 1/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt, and sift into a large mixing bowl.

Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and using a wooden spoon, combine dry ingredients into the yeast and milk mixture. When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to beat 2 minutes or until dough can be formed into a medium soft ball.

Place ball of dough on floured surface and knead, gradually adding 1/2 to 1 cup more of flour. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.

Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a heavier kitchen towel and allow dough to rise in a warm place for about 1 and 1/2 hours or until it doubles in volume.

Coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside. After the first rising, place the dough on a floured surface and punch it down with a heavy blow. Sprinkle cinnamon, then pat and shape the dough into a long 'snake' or 'cylinder'. Form a twist by folding the long cylinder in half, end to end, and pinching the ends together. Then twist the dough. Form a ring with the completed twist and pinch the ends together.

Place the completed ring on the buttered baking sheet, cover it with a towel and allow it to rise for 45 minutes or until it doubles in volume. After the second rising, brush the top and sides of the cake with the egg and milk wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and hide the plastic baby inside the cake (or just place on the top of cake to avoid someone biting into it).

Icing: (2 parts - you can use one or both if desired)

Colored sugar
Green, purple and yellow coloring paste (sold with cake decorating supplies)
12 T. sugar
Divide sugar into three portions (for green, yellow and purple)
Add a tiny amount of the coloring paste to each sugar portion. Try mixing the sugar and colored pasted between your palms for best results. Set aside.

Poured icing:

3/4 c. confectioners sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
3 - 6 T. of water

Combine ingredients until smooth, adding more water if it's too thick. Spoon icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugars, alternating between the three colors. Serve in 2"3" pieces.

I found this on another website. You can click the title link to check it out. The website is betterbudgeting.com and they have lots of interesting money saving ideas.

Mobile expects larger Mardi Gras crowds because of Katrina

2006-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

A scaled-down New Orleans Mardi Gras because of Hurricane Katrina's destruction could boost turnout for the rollicking festivities in Mobile, where local historians say carnival was first celebrated in the United States in the 1700s.
"It's going to be nuts. We're preparing for the insane, just in case," says bartender Danielle Hamilton at Hayley's on Dauphin Street, the city's downtown entertainment strip.
She says the bar will hire extra bouncers and bartenders to deal with the crowds.
Millions of tourist dollars are up for grabs in carnival cities along the Gulf of Mexico from Galveston, Texas, to Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Leon Maisel, president and CEO of the Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, said there are no historical benchmarks for this year's Mardi Gras because of Katrina.
"But in communicating with industry members," he said, "all indications show Mobile Mardi Gras attendance increasing due to this unique situation."
Mobile has advertised its "family-oriented" carnival in markets within a 150-to-200-mile radius, including Jackson, Miss., Hattiesburg, Miss., Baton Rouge, La., Birmingham and Montgomery, Maisel said.

Click the title link to read the rest of the story.

Little shop of Mardi Gras

2006-01-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, Jeff Jordan looked around Mobile's lower Dauphin Street district and noticed something missing.

In the birthplace of America's Mardi Gras, there were no stores solely devoted to selling Carnival-inspired merchandise downtown. No bead outlets. No T-shirt shops. No markets hawking feathered masks.

So the local artist and entrepreneur transformed his father's antiques store into a gift shop and printing business speckled with all things purple, green and gold -- arguably anything anyone would ever want to properly celebrate the pre-Lenten season.

Click the title link to read the rest of the story.

Zulu scales hurdles to roll on Mardi Gras Day

2006-01-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

NEW ORLEANS -- In the 700 block of North Broad Street, the main building that houses the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club stands as an example of recovery and promise in this tattered city.

The gold and black, two-story building, which took on about 4 feet of water after Hurricane Katrina, has been gutted and restored.

Members of Zulu, New Orleans' oldest and largest historically black Mardi Gras parading organization, pitched in to complete the project, much of it done using two generators because there was no electricity.

Click the title to read the rest of the story from the Mobile Register.

Celebrity Grand Marshals 2006

2006-01-20T21:14:00.000-08:00

Celebrity grand marshals and riders, 2006
Below are the Celebrity Riders for Mardi Gras 2006

Bacchus - Michael Keaton
Keaton, who was filming a movie in New Orleans before hurricane Katrina, will reign as Bacchus XXXVIII. The krewe hopes to raise money for Katrina relief by marketing the lithograph of this year's king.
• Read more
Krewe du Vieux - Walter "Mr. Bill" Williams
Oh Noooooo!! The creator of Mr. Bill will lead the Krewe through the French Quarter under the theme "C'est Levee."
Knights of Jason - Bag of Donuts
Known for their outlandish costumes and covers of popular songs, Bag of Donuts are definately the 'Baddest Show on Earth.'

New Orleans 2006 Parade Calendar

2006-01-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras 2006 Parade Calendar
Greater New Orleans Area

Please note: Dates and times for Carnival 2006 are still being confirmed. For more information, click here.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
• Krewe du Vieux - French Quarter

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
• Perseus - Slidell

• Little Rascals - Metairie 11:00 a.m.

• Pearl River Lions Club - Pearl River 1:15 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
• Excalibur - Metairie 7:00 p.m.

• Eve - Mandeville 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18
• Pontchartrain - Uptown

• Shangri-La - Uptown

• Pygmalion - Uptown

• Sparta - Uptown

• Pegasus - Uptown

• Push Mow - Abita Springs 10:00 a.m.

• Aladdin - Westbank noon

• Caesar - Metairie 6:00 p.m.

• Olympia - Covington 6:00 p.m.

• Mona Lisa & Moon Pie - Slidell 7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19
• Carrollton - Uptown

• King Arthur - Uptown

• Bards of Bohemia - Uptown

• Barkus - French Quarter

• Dionysus - Slidell

• Alla - Westbank noon

• Nemesis - St. Bernard 1:00 p.m.

• Rhea - Metairie 2:30 p.m.

• Centurions - Metairie 5:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
• Thor - Metairie 7:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
• Babylon - Uptown

• Chaos - Uptown

• Muses - Uptown
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
• Hermes - Uptown

• Krewe d'Etat - Uptown

• Morpheus - Uptown

• Selene - Slidell

• Orpheus - Mandeville 7:00 p.m.

• Aquila - Metairie 7:00 p.m.

• Knights of Jason - Metairie 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
• Iris - Uptown

• Tucks - Uptown

• Endymion - Uptown

• Isis - Metairie 6:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
• Okeanos - Uptown

• Thoth - Uptown

• Mid-City - Uptown

• Bacchus - Uptown

• Adonis - West Bank

• Corps de Napoleon - Metairie 5:30 p.m.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27
• Proteus - Uptown

• Orpheus - Uptown

• Zeus - Metairie 6:30 p.m.

MARDI GRAS, FEBRUARY 28
• Zulu - Uptown

• Rex - Uptown

• Elks Orleans - Uptown after Rex

• Crescent City - Uptown after Elks

• Choctaw - West Bank

• Lions - Covington 10:00 a.m.

• KaaCee - Covington, after Lions

• Argus - Metairie 10:00 a.m.

• Elks Jefferson - Metairie after Argus

• Jefferson Trucks - Metairie after Elks

Mardi Gras Growth Continues

2006-01-20T21:03:00.000-08:00

St. Bernard krewe plans unrivaled debut
Hurricane Katrina dealt St. Bernard Parish a devastating blow -- but it's not enough to stop the debut of the parish's newest Carnival krewe.

The Knights of Nemesis has received permission from parish authorities to hit the ravaged streets of the parish on Feb. 19. The parade, the lone krewe of the parish's four that will parade this year, plans 15 floats, some 200 members, three marching groups and at least one band.

Expecting BIG Crowds

2006-01-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras in Mobile could be huge. "Soon as you try to figure out what its gonna be it turns out not to be that." Life and business have taught Jeff Jordan not to let his hopes soar.

But now as his Mardi Gras shop heads into it's 3rd year, it's hard to keep the glimmer out of the entrepreneur's eyes. "If there's room here, I think they'll come. I'm just not sure if there's enough room to put them in hotel space."

"The central business district, downtown is pretty much booked." Leon Maisel with the Mobile Bay Visitors and Convention Bureau says hotel rooms downtown are almost all booked and the beltway is filling up.

If you want a room, act fast. You can do so at this website. www.mobile.org .

Click the title link to read the rest of the story.

Navy destroyer to visit Mobile during Mardi Gras

2006-01-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

The U.S.S. Nitze, a new guided-missile destroyer with a crew of 320 sailors, is slated to sail into Mobile on February 24th for a five-day Mardi Gras visit.

Commander Michael Hegarty, the ship's commanding officer, said he and crewmembers are looking forward to the festivities.

The naval vessel is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

Hegarty said this will be the ship's first official port liberty visit since its commissioning last March.

Click the title link to read the rest of the story from NBC 15 news.

Staying Safe During Mardi Gras

2006-01-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

The Mobile Police Department wants to share some safety precautions and other good to know facts for those heading down to Mardi Gras this year.

Streets in and around the parade route will begin closing approximately one hour prior to the start of each parade. Drivers must adhere to all designated “No Parking” areas as well as other specially marked Mardi Gras “No Parking” zones marked with green and gold signs. All vehicles parked in these areas will be towed to Smith’s Towing, located at 2400 Michigan Avenue; (251)-662-8304. The fee for this towing will be $75.00 and must be paid to the wrecker company before any vehicle can be released to the owner.

R.V. parking on the medians along Claiborne and Canal Streets will still be prohibited this Mardi Gras. However, R.V. parking will be allowed beneath I-10 at Canal and Water Streets for a fee (approximately 150 spaces available). “No R.V. Parking” signs have already been posted in the downtown area and will be strictly enforced. Anyone with questions or concerns regarding R.V. parking can contact Ike Jimenez at (251) 476-7038 or 583-2350.

Following is a list of precautions that should be kept in mind while attending the parades downtown during Mardi Gras:

• Attend parades with family or friends
• A City Ordinance strictly forbids glass containers in public
• Do not follow floats. Violators may be arrested
• Do not throw any object in the direction of floats, band members, or parade participants. Violators may be arrested
• Materials known as “Silly String” and “Snap & Pops”, along with similar products are illegal. Possession of any these products may result in arrest
• If you need police assistance during a parade, go to the nearest intersection and advise a uniformed police officer
• Lost children will be taken to the Mobile Police Department Central Events Mini Precinct located at 320 Dauphin Street (208-6306). Place an index card in your childs pocket indicating their name, address, telephone number and a relatives name
• Please cooperate with all requests from police officers
• Choose a well-lit area for night parade viewing
• Establish a pre-designated meeting place for after the parade in case you get separated from friends or family
• Park vehicles in secure areas and do not leave valuables in plain sight. Utilize the trunk to store valuables
• The Mobile Police Department will enforce a “no weapons” policy. Persons found in possession of weapons will be arrested. Pistol permits do not allow possession of firearms at parades
• Uniformed and plainclothes officers will be patrolling behind the crowds to identify and arrest persons engaging in criminal activity
• Do not cross the barricades. Each officer will be carrying a ticket book and will be issuing citations to those people who disobey the law by crossing the barricades. The fine for crossing the barricades is $152.00
• Pets on leashes are prohibited during the parades downtown
• Skateboards and motorized scooters are prohibited.

African American Mardi Gras

2006-01-20T19:19:00.001-08:00

There is not an abundance of photographs of black Mardi Gras past in Mobile, but enough exist to accurately tell the story. The story is told around the activities of the organization that would eventually become the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association.

A 1946 photograph captures the spirit and excitement of a marching band as it charges toward the viewing stand. Awaiting them is the royal court of the association, but if you take a close look at these photographs, you'll discover the identity of the studio that captured these moments -- a photography studio that is, itself, a thing of the past.

Blue Light Studio number one opened on Royal Street in 1942. By 1944 a second blue light studio opened but later burned in 1958. But the photos survive.

Click the title link to read the rest of the story from NBC 15.

Makin Mardi Gras

2006-01-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Click on the title link to read all the articles from Darwin Singleton of NBC 15 news.

MAMGA seeks to bring Mammoth Parade back to "The Avenue"
When the MAMGA parade rolls on Fat Tuesday, Tammy Morgan of Prichard says keep your eye out for the ladies on float 13.

"Big Easy" float builders make Mardi Gras easier in Orange Beach
Joe Barth and Tim Kennedy are in a large metal garage, busy working on Mardi Gras floats. No surprise. It's what they do this time every year in New Orleans. But this isn't New Orleans. It isn't even in Louisiana. This is a secret float barn in Orange Beach. Alabama. So why are Joe and Tim here instead of there?

Dynasty Collection: Makin' Mardi Gras with carnival royalty!
Mary Margaret Monahan is a beautiful lady. But something special happens when you add a crown! A crown, a scepter and jewels!

Makin' Mardi Gras at Toomey's
You've seen the crazy hats, the one-of-a-kind beads, the wacky glasses (for your face or your table) and maybe even a Mardi Gras vest! That stuff is commonplace at Toomey's Mardi Gras! Watch this video
Watch this video

Moon Pie Recipe
It's that time of year again. NBC 15's own "Mr. Mardi Gras" starts dipping into the familiar purple, green and gold, and he's getting a new spin on the old Mardi Gras favorite -- the moon pie!

Mobile hosting Gulf Coast's oldest Mardi Gras
From decorated trees and outrageous costumes to colorful parades and quaint traditions, it's Mardi Gras time on the Gulf Coast. And while New Orleans' celebration may be better known, Mobile's is, in fact, known to be older — as well as more family-oriented.

Mardi Gras safety tips and need-to-know info
The Mobile Police Department wants to share some safety precautions and other good to know facts for those heading down to Mardi Gras this year.

Joe Cain
Mention his name anywhere else and it won't ring a bell, but say Joe Cain in Mobile, and, well, it's almost like saying George Washington.

African American Mardi Gras in Mobile
The Blue Light photographers did not limit their cameras to the streets of Mobile's black neighborhoods. They took them into the halls and homes here the shutter captured a carnival association party.

Royalty
Everyone knows that Cinderella is a fairy tale, but come to Mobile during Mardi Gras, and you might have to reconsider.

Royalty must have a crown
How can you recognize a Mardi Gras king or queen? By the crown, of course! Something happens to a person when that sparkling headpiece is placed on their brow. So who is responsible for crowning our Mardi Gras royalty? Darwin knows!

Return to History?

2006-01-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

Parade petitions for return to roots

The Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association has requested a route expansion of its Fat Tuesday Mammoth Parade to include Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, a move that would take the parade back to its historic roots.

MAMGA officials also want a 2 p.m. start, Ralph Altice, association president, said Wednesday. MAMGA officials held a news conference Wednesday evening at the association's float barn to discuss the reason for requesting the route change.

"We consider this more of an expansion and not so much as a change," Altice said earlier Wednesday.

Please click the title link to read the rest of the story from the Mobile Register.

Blast from the Past

2006-01-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Well Mobile Mardi Gras 2006 is upon us and as we wait and prepare for the season I wanted to share some old pictures from Mardi Gras gone by. If there was any doubt that I love and have always been a part of Mobile Mardi Gras here are some pictures to prove it.

I will be covering all things Mardi Gras in the weeks and months to come so check back often. Please leave comments or drop me a line and tell me what you think, ask questions and give me suggestions to improve the site.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS MOBILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe Cain was My Main Man when I was 1 in the Joe Cain Parade. I am holding onto my crown so I don’t lose it. This was my second Joe Cain Parade.
Here I am on the Mystic Stripers Queen's Float. I am ready at 2 to lead the parade. It would take many more years for me to get there.
I was 6 in this picture. In those days after a terrific Joe Cain Parade there was a ceremony and picnic at the Church Street Grave Yard where Joe Cain is buried.
This is my little sister, Timpy, and me. I guess I was about 8 in this picture on Mardi Gras Day downtown. My dad always tied a step stool to this pole so he could get up high to take pictures of the passing parades.
I guess this was when I was about 16. Funny story. My best friend Debbie called into work so she could parade in the Joe Cain Parade with me. Well, this picture appeared as almost half page on the front of the newspaper the next day. Needless to say my friend had to look for a new job but she said it was all worth it.
Finally made it!! I was 20 here when I lead the Mystic Striper’s Ball as their Queen.
This was the stage. My jester train and the stage that evening were a perfect accidental match. The stage builder and us were unaware what the other was doing. It worked out perfectly.
This was Joe Cain Day 2002. My hubby, Luke, decided to dress in traditional MOWA attire.

SHOW MUST GO ON

2006-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

It took months of sometimes contentious negotiation between city and community leaders, but the 2006 Carnival season officially began Friday with the heart-jumping call of the Soul Rebels Brass Band and an announcement that Zulu will roll and walk on Mardi Gras.

During the Twelfth Night news conference at Gallier Hall, Zulu President Charles Hamilton said his organization agreed to change its traditional route on Fat Tuesday, which falls on Feb. 28.

Click on the title link to read the rest of the story.

New Orleans Extends Mardi Gras to 8 Days

2005-12-31T08:56:00.000-08:00

City Gears up for Mardi Gras 2006
(New Orleans, LA) The City of New Orleans today announced its official recommendation to the Mayor for the 2006 Mardi Gras celebration, marking 150 years of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

The NOPD, City officials and krewe captains came together to accommodate the krewes’ needs while working within the challenging financial environment the city faces.
The plan consists of the following:

Click on the title link to read the rest of the story.

Citing Safety, Atlanta Bans Bead Tossing at Parade

2005-12-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

ATLANTA, Dec. 30 - Despite the thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who have taken up residence here, life has not become noticeably more outré.

New Orleanians seem to understand that the rest of the world has different customs - people buy shrimp with the heads already removed, for example, and are not allowed to stroll down the street with their cocktails in hand.

Click on the title link to read the rest of the story.

Merry Christmas from Mobile, AL

2005-12-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

Mobile Christmas Parade

2005-12-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

A little drizzling rain and cold temps did not stop the Christmas and Holiday parade here in Mobile. We love a parade not matter what the weather.

Tillman's Corner Christmas Parade

2005-12-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

This morning Tillman's Corner which is just south of Mobile held it's annual Christmas Parade. The only problem I have with this parade is that it is at 10 in the morning. Anyway, we got up and went and caught a big bag of throws.

GMAC Bowl News

2005-11-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO TO REPRESENT MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE IN 2005 GMAC BOWL

GMAC Bowl President Jerry Silverstein announced today that the University of Toledo Rockets have accepted an invitation to participate in the 7th Annual GMAC Bowl. The Rockets will play a yet to be named team from Conference USA on December 21, 2005 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

“We are excited to have Toledo coming to the GMAC Bowl for the first time. Toledo will bring an explosive offense to Mobile, which is something the fans here in Mobile have become accustomed to,” GMAC Bowl President Jerry Silverstein said. “Toledo has been very dominate in the MAC and we are lucky to have them.”

To read more or get event and ticket information click on the title link.

No Plans for New Orleans krewe in Mobile

2005-11-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

No plans for New Orleans krewes in Mobile
Crescent City will have a shortened season, but most societies have say they will be able to parade
Saturday, November 12, 2005
By PENELOPE McCLENNY
Staff Reporter
New Orleans' Mardi Gras season will likely be shortened to six days, but local Carnival organizers said there are no confirmed reports that Crescent City societies will bring their parades to Mobile.

Arthur Hardy, publisher of New Orleans' Mardi Gras Guide and a member of the Mayor's Mardi Gras Advisory Committee, said preliminary plans are to reduce the city's parade schedule from 12 days to six. A final decision, which will come from Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley, is scheduled to be made at a Nov. 21 meeting, Hardy said.

Mardi Gras falls on Feb. 28. Next year will mark New Orleans' 150th year of the celebration.

Come Home to Mama!!

2005-11-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

Mobile - The "Mother of Mystics," may host some New Orleans

(MOBILE, Ala.) November 10 -- The Mardi Gras celebration you’ve known for years in Mobile could be a lot different in 2006. That’s because officials have announced New Orleans Mardi Gras season will be shortened considerably. The upcoming parade season will last only six days, as that city recovers from Hurricane Katrina.

Click the title link to read the entire article and see the video.

Christmas Tree Lighting

2005-11-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday we had the official Christmas tree lighting downtown in Bienville Square. There were lots of booths selling things from food to hot spiced apple wine. There were many different acts that sang Christmas Carols Santa Claus was there and our new mayor Sam Jones light the tree for the first time. It was a lot of fun. I wish I could have taken more pictures but it was dark and I need a big flash for my camera. Maybe I will get one for Christmas.

Veteran's Day Parade

2005-11-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Veteran's Day Parade yesterday. I work 1/2 block from the parade route so when I heard the beating of the drums I headed down the street to watch the parade.

New Orleans Lives On

2005-10-31T07:50:00.000-08:00

Luke and I went to New Orleans last Sunday. As we drove across the Twin Span traffic moved very slowly because one side was closed. The side you would think would have the damage was in good shape but the other side had huge pieces of the bridge gone. As we passed New Orleans East we had a very eerie feeling. Everything was in shambles. There were small boats everywhere and flooded cars littering the streets. It did not look like anyone had been into the area since before the Hurricane. There was no life at all, no movement, nothing.

We made our way into the French Quarter and it was bizarre to see cars parked all up and down Canal Street. The trolleys are not running yet and most of the stores along Canal are still closed because of looting. Two of the busiest parking lots were not taken over by emergency relief personnel in tents. Nobody was charging to park anywhere. Cafe du Monde was open and we stopped to bet beignets. There were crowds of people there and the horse and buggies were running. On this corner across from Jackson Square you would think nothing ever happened. We walked down to the French Market and it was open but with about half the booths. The food section was still closed and smelled like rotting fish and bleach.

We headed toward Bourbon Street and stopped several times to listen to the silence. It was very strange to be standing in the French Quarter and hear nothing but birds chirping. There were people in spots but the total of all the people would not even match the amount of people on Bourbon Street on a regular Sunday prior to the Hurricane. Most of the bars were open but there were very few places to eat. Help wanted signs were displayed in almost every business window.

It was a beautiful day and the perfect day to be in New Orleans. The city may have a long way to go but the spirit of New Orleans was alive and well and New Orleans will rise again.

Cafe Du Monde - Original French Market Coffee Stand New Orleans

http://www.frenchmarket.org/
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
Halloween Decorations on Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street

Federal Facility behind Canal Place

Cars parked in the middle of Canal Street

New Orleans Superdome

A house in the Garden District destroyed by fire

Working on Floats

2005-10-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Michele Ulness, and her husband Steve Ulness work on a decoration that will be placed on a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005. They are working for the Massett Company getting ready for the Mardi Gras

From Yahoo pictures

Hurricane Wilma

2005-10-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is the worst storm in history. It went from a Tropical Storm to a Category 5 Hurricane in less that 24 hours and it had the lowest pressure ever. Great, that is just wonderful. The storm is tracking right now toward the area of Miami where a friend of mine Vicky lives. Vicky is a really cool lady from Bulgaria that is a terrific photographer. You can click on the title of this story to see her website. Anyway, everyone down here on the Gulf Coast is watching this storm very closely because we all know these things can change course at any time. I pray that it does not affect anyone but I also pray for the people that may be in its path.

Zulu Mardi Gras Group Faces a Struggle

2005-10-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

by Susan Roesgen

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, October 12, 2005 · One of New Orleans' best-known Mardi Gras groups, the Zulu Organization, has seen membership drop since the hurricanes. Corporate sponsorship may be needed to pay for February's celebration.

Click the link above to go to the story and listen to the interview on NPR news.

Organizers vow Mardi Gras will go on

2005-10-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Specifics uncertain in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Wednesday, October 12, 2005; Posted: 8:01 p.m. EDT (00:01 GMT)

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Mardi Gras organizers promised Wednesday to roll out the city's signature celebration in February despite the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Click the title link above to read the entire article.

New Orleans Official Reopening Party

2005-10-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

After that, the city stages a scaled-down, but highly emotional, Mardi Gras early next year, touted as the 150th anniversary of the bacchanal. City business leaders describe Mardi Gras 2006 as the city's official reopening party. "I've already got commitments from several krewes to hold their Mardi Gras balls here," said Dan King, general manager of the Sheraton on Canal Street, one of the city's largest hotels. Krewes are the social clubs that sponsor floats in Mardi Gras parades.

King said that several krewes would team up on the same float next year and that the entire event would be smaller than usual. Nonetheless, he said the event's success or failure will go a long way toward deciding the city's future. "We need to have that first big event to give people the confidence that we can handle it," he said. King spends much of his time these days on the phone, imploring convention planners not to cancel events scheduled for next year but instead to give the city a chance to show it can recover.

Click the title link to read the article in it's entirety.

Mardi Gras Marches Forward

2005-10-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

With the first parade of the 2006 season less than 19 weeks away, there is a flurry of activity in Carnival circles. Next week several meetings are planned by Mardi Gras’ movers and shakers, including ones by the westbank Carnival clubs and the Jefferson Parish United Carnival Captains’ Association. Mardi Gras will also be discussed at next Wednesday’s New Orleans City Council meeting and will be a topic at the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association’s meeting.

Mardi Gras Guide publisher Arthur Hardy spoke with representatives of 25 of the 33 Mardi Gras krewes that paraded this year in Orleans Parish. Surprisingly, 24 clubs announced their intentions to parade next year. The list includes Alla, Aladdin, Babylon, Bacchus, Carrollton, Chaos, D’Etat, Druids, Endymion, Iris, King Arthur, Mid-City, Morpheus, Muses, Okeanos, Orpheus, Proteus, Pygmalion, Rex, Shangri-La , Sparta, Thoth, Tucks and Zulu.

Read more by clicking the title link above. The site that this comes from is one of the best places on the net to see pics and read all about New Orleans Mardi Gras. They also have some info about Mardi Gras in other places including Mobile.

The Knights of Babylon are Ready to Roll

2005-10-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

Krewe plans to parade despite Katrina

NEW ORLEANS — As the city of New Orleans begins to clean up, at least one Mardi Gras Krewe is looking forward to parade season.

The Knights of Babylon is committed to staging its 67th Annual Mardi Gras Parade down St. Charles Avenue. The krewe owns all 20 of its floats as well as the "den" in which they are housed. The den, which dates back to the 1800's, is the oldest building in the Irish Channel of New Orleans and was untouched by the flooding.
Themes for the parades are picked years in advance, so work on the floats for 2006 already had begun.

"Our floats are 95 percent finished," said the KOB Captain, whose identity, according to tradition, must be kept secret. "All that is left to do is to tweak accent lighting and make some minor adjustments. Musically, we anticipate having 10 to 15 bands including many local jazz bands, a few out-of-town marching bands and hopefully, the Marine Corps Marching Band. Traditionally, they have lead off our parade followed by the Captain and his 12 Riding Lieutenants on horseback. The mule-drawn King's float then follows, with all other floats carrying members, interspersed by bands.

Click the title link above for the entire story.

Post-Katrina, Big Easy has big Mardi Gras hopes

2005-10-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

20 Sep 2005 20:39:33 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW ORLEANS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Work got under way this week on next year's Mardi Gras in New Orleans in the warehouses that hold the celebration's huge parade floats, even as rescue workers outside dispensed food and water to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"It might seem trivial to be discussing Mardi Gras at this point, but when you consider what Mardi Gras is to tourism and what tourism is to New Orleans, it's very, very important," said Barry Kern, president of Kern Studios, where many of the floats are housed.

"It's the backbone, the single largest tourism event and basically drives our economy," he said.

To see the rest of the story click the title link.

Bay Fest Rocks in Spite of Hurricane Katrina

2005-10-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the annual Bay Fest Music Festival. This is a three day outdoor festival featuring 8 stages and over 100 acts. Some news reports were saying that Mobile was closed but we are open!! The annual music festival went on as scheduled with people from Mississippi and Lousiana joining in for a much needed break from all of the horrible things happening in their live. It was the most crowded I have ever seen Bay Fest and it was wonderful.

On Friday night my son Gavin and I went to see Widespread Panic and Morris Day, the Time and Kool and the Gang. Sorry the pics are not that great but it was dark and I did not take my good camera with me because I was scared I would lose it. On Saturday we went to see Dark New Day and Maze and Frankie Beverly.

Sunday we went down early to check out the booths that they have setup for the kids during the day. Looked like great fun for kids and always has been but my son is 13 now and he was not interested. The festival ends early on Sunday because of course people have to go to work the next day and the kids have school. The first band we went to see started at 4. That evening we saw Theory of a Dead Man and then Saliva. Saliva rocked the house. I think that that was my favorite of the entire weekend. I was right in the front with all the 'kids' jumping and singing and holding my hands up for the crowd surfers. Maybe next year I will have lost enough weight that I can crowd surf. Anyway, to end the evening we met my hubby Luke over at the WBLX stage to see the legendary BB King. That show was so awesome in a different way from Saliva. It is always wonderful to see a legend play.

This weekend was so great. I wish we could have stuff like this all the time.

This is a picture from the Bay Fest Website
This was the official poster for this years festival.

History Lost in Mississippi

2005-10-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

I love historic homes, I live in one, so it was very sad for me to see some of the beautiful historic buildings in Mississippi that were lost or heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. These pictures come from the Mississippi Heritage site. You can go to the site by clicking this story title. They are accepting donations to help save historic properties. Here are some of the before and after pictures from their site.
Beauvoir in Biloxi before Katrina
Beauvoir in Biloxi after Katrina (corner view)
Beauvoir in Biloxi after Katrina
The Griffon House on Scenic Blvd in Pass Christian Before Katrina. Photo courtesy of Jenny Mahane.
The Griffon House on Scenic Blvd in Pass Christian was pushed off it’s piers by the storm surge and the front porch was washed away.
Before picture of the Carter house in Pass Christian. Photo courtesy of Jenny Mahane.
The storm surge washed out the first floor of the Carter house on E. Scenic Drive and the only thing supporting the second floor are interior wall studs and an exterior chimney. This photo was taken on 9/14.
The same house as above after the interior supports gave way. This photo was taken on 9/25. Photo courtesy of Jenny Mahane.
The 1856 Tullis Toledano House in Biloxi Before.
A three story casino barge now sits on top of the Tullis Toledano House.
Dantzler House in Biloxi Before Katrina.
The Dantzler House in Biloxi used to stand on this site.

Hurricane Katrina Pics

2005-09-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

Mardi Gras Floats Damaged

2005-09-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

Finally I found some information on Blaine Kern's Warehouse. This is where the bulk of the Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans are built. It is in Algiers which was not flooded and recieved little damage. That means with some repairs needed the floats are ready to go it the city is in February.

The pictures and info here come from NBC 17. If you click on the title you can see video as well.

Mardi Gras Floats Damaged During Hurricane Katrina

Warehouse Worker: 'Everything Is Replaceable'

POSTED: 9:21 am EDT September 6, 2005

UPDATED: 10:20 am EDT September 6, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Homes, businesses and restaurants were not the only things damaged from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina -- several Mardi Gras floats were nearly ruined, as well.

The colorful floats were kept inside the Blaine Kern Warehouse, but high winds and heavy rain damaged the pieces.

Lynn Petre has been guarding the floats since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf region last week.

Petre said the annual party is important to the city.

"This is Mardi Gras. This is New Orleans," Petre said.

Although the floats are damaged, they are not destroyed.

"Everything is replaceable, but it's going to take time," Petre said.

The Blaine Kern Warehouse ran daily tours of the floats before the hurricane.

The city of New Orleans hosts Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," every year in February.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I Went to Mississippi Today

2005-09-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Will New Orleans have Mardi Gras?

2005-09-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

From the AP
‘Party must go on’ spirit lives in New Orleans
Mardi Gras guru: ‘Now more than ever we need a reason to celebrate’

More Hurricane Pictures

2005-09-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

A tree blocks traffic on Telegraph Road
Debris on an bridge on Telegraph Road
Conde Cavalier barn doors are damaged.
Repairs begin on the Dew Drop Inn Sign on Old Shell Road
Nothing but pilings are left of this house on the Waterfront in Mobile
A gas station on the Causeway is completely submerged.
Debris covers the walkway at a shopping center after parts of the roof fell.

Beads for Donations

2005-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a unique idea. I hope he reaches his goal.

Clear Channel’s Craig Coffee is broadcasting from the balcony of a local restaurant offering Mardi Gras beads for cash donations to benefit hurricane victims. Coffee intends to man his post until he has raised $99,999.

Some people on Ebay have the same idea.

Mardi Gras Beads

Please Help Support The Victims Of Hurricane Katrina

These are brand new high quality Mardi Gras beads. They were originally purchased from New Orleans before the hurricane.

You can wear them or hang them on your rearview mirror to show your support. What better way than beads to show the people of New Orleans that we care. Just to remind them of the good times when they are going through such horrific experiences.

To all of the victims;

We thank you for all the fun parties and great memories you have given to us and we are here for you now in the most difficult of times.

This particular lot is a set of 3 necklaces in New Orleans colors purple, green & gold the beads are shaped like little dice. This grouping was requested by a group of people affected by hurricane Katrina who are currently staying in a hotel. Check my other listings for different necklaces.

I couldn't sleep last night I had to find a way to help. If this idea of mine goes over well then I will list much more of them. I am a young single mom of a baby boy and I really want to do what I can. I hear every little bit helps.

My Heart is Breaking

2005-09-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that people on the Gulf Coast are all connected. We are all so much alike with few interesting differences. I have traveled to every state in the continental US and have never met anybody that I connect with on that level other than others that lived along the Gulf Coast. New Orleans, LA and Mobile, AL are two of the oldest cities in the US. Mobile celebrated its' 300th birthday last year and New Orleans should celebrate theirs in a few more from now. We are all family.

Having that said it is so horrible down here. You can all see the pictures like I have been watching and most of you have never been there. It is like it is my city. I know so many people there that decided to stay and nobody has heard from them since. The not knowing is the worse. I call and call all day and night with no clear lines. They have not contacted family nor friends. It is horrible.

Then I watch the TV and look at the pictures online and it tears me apart. This is my home. (The Gulf Coast) The whole area that spans 4 states wide is suffering. It has nothing to do with race, color, creed, religion and anything else the media want to get ratings off of. We are all suffering for the fate of our beloved home. There is so much destruction and death and heartache everywhere you go it is unbearable.

My husband and me have 15 dollars left. I did not get paid this week because we did not send out invoices so there was no money to pay anyone. One of the guys that works there is walking to work and home. Luke works at the bars but there is a curfew in effect so the bars can't open plus nobody has any money if they have power. I have several disconnect notices. We just don't know how this will all play out.

All I can say is pray for everyone on the Gulf Coast but especially the hardest hit. I just wanted people to know how it is affecting everyone down here.

I love this area, all of it, and you are all in my heart and soul.

Lillian Dean
Mardi Gras Lady
www.mardigraslady.blogspot.com

Satellite Pictures

2005-09-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

These show the before and after of the Mississippi Coast and New Orleans. It is such a horrible thing that has occured. You can click on this post title to go to the link where I found these and see other pictures as well.
New Orleans Before
New Orleans After

Biloxi Coast Before
Biloxi Coast After

Getting back to Normal

2005-09-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well things are slowly beginning to get back to normal now. My office got power back last night so we will be working all weekend and Labor day to try and get caught up. I hope that when Mobile gets back up and running we can offer more help to the harder hit areas.

More pictures from around my area.

Dauphin Island is in Ruin

2005-09-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

Dauphin Island which is in Mobile County about 35-40 miles from where I live. It got hit really hard and many people lost their houses as they were ripped apart or just floated away into the ocean. Their were places where there was 1 or 2 houses and then the next 10-14 were gone. The ones that were left were in complete devistation. These pictures come from www.al.com.

The Causeway

2005-09-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

We were able to drive over the causeway that connects Mobile and Baldwin Counties. This area was totally covered by water. One side of the bridge was washed away and one of the ramps to the Bay Bridge was shifted in several places.

This is what is left of the Original Oyster House.

The Blue Gill also sustained a lot of damage and will have to be rebuilt.

Many gas stations were completely destroyed.

Downtown Mobile Floods

2005-09-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

In the Dark Again - Audio Post

2005-08-31T18:43:00.001-07:00

More Hurricane Pictures

2005-08-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of some metal from a roof that floated into this tree when the flood water came in to downtown Mobile. The other is a power pole that fell on the roof of a grocery store on Broad Street.

These photos are some that I saved from various sites on the internet. I have to say the pictures from New Orleans and Biloxi are heart breaking. Here on the Gulf Coast we in a lot of ways are like on big city no matter what state we are from. I feel like it is my city when I see these pictures.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-30T18:45:00.001-07:00

Well we got power back around 1pm this afternoon. Most people still don't have power. The people across the street from us don't even have power back. In downtown Mobile there was not a lot of damage but a lot of debris and a good many trees are down. We had a lot of shingles blow off of our house so I will be calling the insurance company. A pipe fell on my truck and scratched it but it is not enought to claim on insurance so that really sucks. Other than that we had a mess to clean up in the yard but we faired really well. Luke and I took a drive down around some of the Mardi Gras float barns this morning and some of the had damage.

This is the debris that came out of my yard.

This is a street downtown in the warehouse district. The water came up about 5 blocks or so in that area.

This is one of the Mystics of Time float barns. The doors on both barns were blown of and mangled.

Here is the other MOT barn.

The Comic Cowboy's barn sustained substantial damage. The front doors were twisted and mangled and one whole side of the barn was torn off.

The Mystic Stripers barn doors on their old barn were shifted but it doesn't look like there was a lot of damage.

Getting windy

2005-08-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

This is video I took during the storm but it really does not show the force of the winds at that point. We were getting wind gusts at this point up to around 100 mph.

We Are Still Here - Audio Post

2005-08-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Spring Storm

2005-08-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

The view from my front porch after an overnight thunderstorm.

Southern Legislator Parade

2005-07-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well I tried to win the raffle for the spots to parade in both of my Mardi Gras organizations but no luck. However, being the true Mardi Gras person I am there was no way a parade was going to roll with me not being a part of it when I could be. Everyone said they were so sorry that I didn't have a spot but I told them the parade is not here yet I WILL find a way. Last night around 10pm I finally called the right person and got a spot. I rode with the Order of Angels. They are a new group that began in 2002. The only person I knew was the guy that told me that I could ride. I was a little worried that some of the members would not want me there but I found out that they were wonderful people and I had a great time parading with them. If I could afford another organization I would join in a minute.

Anyway, I had two client meetings today. I drove 30 minutes to Grandbay this morning for the first meeting then back downtown to load my float then back to Theodore for the second meeting another 20 minutes away and then back downtown to get dressed in my costume to head to the parade.

I got downtown to the auditorium around 5 and met up with a bunch of the girls from one of my organizations. We tailgated out of the back of one of the girls SUV and drank champage and beer. We were told that the parade was going to roll 15 minutes early so we headed to the floats only for the parade to roll 15 minutes late. The bands would not get out of the buses until the rain stopped. No big deal. Everyone got off their floats and we had basically a street party for about 30 minutes.

Finally the parade rolled and there was a good crowd that turned out despite the weather. The people with the convention seemed to be really enjoying the show.

I did take a couple of pictures but because I was on the float I could not get a lot. My dad performed a wedding (he is a minister) and then headed down for the parade and he took a lot of pictues. He is going to email them to me so I will post them later.

Anyway, it was a great evening.

This is a bunch of people having fun before the parade.

A view from the top of the float I was on as the parade started to roll.

Southern Legislator Parade

2005-07-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Dennis Part III

2005-07-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the storm was down to a category 2 but we knew it would stregthen since it was over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters. We boarded up the house except for the windows with the a/c units. Luke went downtown to help board up his boss' resturant and house and secure the clubs. After Gavin and I did all the preparations we could I settled down on the couch to watch the Hurricane coverage. I knew we would have to get up early because they were saying we would start feeling the effects around 7am so I went to bed about 10pm.

At around 12:30am Luke came in and woke me up to tell me it had been upgraded to a category 4 storm.

Hurricane Dennis Part II

2005-07-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

OMG the latest update has this storm at almost a Category 5!! We are still going to stay in Mobile but I am not looking forward to it. I have to go fill up my car with gas and buy beer and we will be all set. We will board up the house tomorrow and pray. It is at 150mph winds and 938 mb pressure and it is still not in the Gulf of Mexico. That means that once it hits those warm Gulf waters it will get even stronger.

CATEGORY 4
Winds: 131 to 155 mph

Damage: Extreme; almost total destruction of doors, windows. Some wall and roof failure. Major damage to lower floors of oceanfront buildings. Evacuations up to 6 miles inland. Pressure 27.17 to 27.90 inches accompanied by a storm surge of 13 to 18 feet.. Hurricanes Andrew, Hugo, and Hazel were Category 4 storms.

Hurricane Dennis Part 1

2005-07-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here we go again. Cindy was no big deal but this one is scary. It is already a category 2 and will be at least a 3 when it makes it here. Mobile is once again right in the middle of the cone so we are already making preparations. Max, Amy email me and I will send you my phone number. I know last time several people were trying to get in touch with me and if we get a direct hit then the power could be out for up to two weeks so no internet access. I will be able to IM on my phone a little but it costs extra so I try not to use the service too much. I have also got to research but there is a way that I can post on my blog from my phone. I can't post pics of course but could at least maybe do a play by play and post pics later. I will look into that over the next couple of days. Well at least this time we have all the wood to board up our house unlike last time we spent $600 buying wood. When we took the boards off the windows after Hurricane Ivan we marked each one so that we would know which window it was for. Luke cut each board to fit so this time all we have to do is pull out the wood and screw it to the house. I will go to the store tomorrow for supplies like water, candles, batteries, oh and of course beer. On Saturday if it looks like we are going to get clobbered then we will start boarding up and get ready to camp out in the hall on Sunday.

A Great Idea for Mobile

2005-06-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

From the Mobile Register

Village for area homeless proposed
Plan unveiled to construct housing complex on 28 acres off Interstate 65; cost of proposal not released

Saturday, June 25, 2005
By RHODA A. PICKETT
Staff Reporter

Members of a task force on homelessness said they hope that an "opportunity village" will provide the stable environment needed to help resolve the problem in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

The Chronic Homeless Task Force presented a new plan Friday at the multi-purpose room of Mobile Government Plaza in downtown Mobile. The plan includes 11 goals -- with the most ambitious involving construction of a village on 28 acres owned by the city of Mobile off Interstate 65, between Moffett Road and U.S. 45.

Bottom line, advocates say, is that the homeless need housing if they are to get back on their feet.

"We want to help the homeless and address the issues and concerns that we all have in our society," said Ann Bedsole, the task force chairwoman. "We have to be helpful rather than be enablers."

Details, including the cost of the proposed complex, were not released. Bedsole said afterward that the task force hopes to get commitments from agencies that work with or provide assistance to the homeless to help with funding.

Bedsole -- along with Mobile County Commissioner Sam Jones, City Councilman John Peavy and former City Councilwoman Bess Rich -- is running for mayor in the summer election.

The idea of the proposed housing complex, said Dan Williams, executive director of the Homeless Coalition of the Gulf Coast, is to prevent homelessness before it starts,.

Some Mobilians who live and work downtown have expressed concerns about the number of homeless people who frequent the area.

"This plan will eventually eliminate homeless in the county, and that should take care of downtown," said Vanessa Shoots, president of the homeless coalition.

"No. 1 (the village) is intended to provide the homeless with all the services they need under one roof," said Al Stokes, Dow's chief of staff. "It will be a much larger place and serve more people and may be more attractive to the homeless."

According to the overall plan, the task force hopes by September to transfer the land from the city of Mobile to the homeless coalition.

An alternative site that was mentioned consists of three parcels totaling 40 acres on the other side of I-65, directly across from the 29-acre site, said Bill Demouy, director of real estate assessment management for the city.

Task force officials said that residents of the complex would receive job and life skills training in order to get back on their feet.

The goal is to develop a safety net for the homeless before individual situations become chronic, said Janice Small, who helped develop the plan. The goals include more intensive outreach to those living on the street, those who have run-ins with law enforcement and end up in jail, or who have been diagnosed with mental health problems, Small said.

According to the Web site for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the chronic homeless are persons who have been homeless for more than a year, who are disabled by addiction, chronic physical ill ness or disability or developmental disability, frequent histories of hospitalization, unstable employ- ment or incarceration, with an average age in their 40s.

The chronic homeless tend to consume more of the resources used to assist the homeless, the Web site said, and have "a more visible impact on (a) community's safety and attractiveness."

"We do have a challenge with homelessness in Baldwin County and we do need your help," Foley Mayor Tim Russell said. "We need a big sister to help us."

Bedsole recounted a story about hiring some homeless men to help clean bricks that were part of a wall that collapsed during Hurricane Ivan in September. One made enough money to buy a pair of steel-toed boots that were required for his construction job, and another earned enough money to buy a ticket back home, Bedsole said.

Most homeless are similar to these men and "just hit a snag in life, and we want to get them past that snag," she said.

The task force was created last year when Mobile Mayor Mike Dow appointed elected officials and advocates for the homeless from throughout the area to tackle the problem.

© 2005 The Mobile Register
© 2005 al.com All Rights Reserved.

Mobile International Carnival Ball 2002

2005-06-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have been invloved in a civic organization here in Mobile since 1991 called Mobile International Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Inc. (M.I.C.A.T.) This organization has held the Mobile International Carnival Ball off and on over the course of it's existence. The ball was not held every year due to the way the event was setup. Conflicts and elections with host countries caused the event to be held about every other year. In 2002 MICAT was not receiving the funding that it once had and some people wanted to dissolve it. That was also the year of Mobile's 300th birthday and the city was planning events to celebrate all year. A commitment had been made several years earlier that MICAT would hold a ball or event to honor visitors from Canada. We had a meeting and with less that $25,000 in the bank most people said we there was no way we would be able to put on a ball. Luke and I as well as my dad did not agree. We told the rest of the board to give us a few weeks and we would put together a plan and a budget to show them we could pull this off. The date the even needed to happen was just under three months away so time was more of an issue than money but we were sure we could do it. To make a long story short we not only put on the ball but it was one of the best ones ever.

Luke wrote most of the script for the show which he centered around our emblem and HG Wells traveling to different periods in Mobile's carnival history. I will take you through the show with the pictures.

Darwin Singleton from one of the local TV stations narrated.

Scott Eldrige as HG Wells and Carlitta Wimberly as Carnivale' our emblem.

MOWA band of Choctaw Indians and reinactors recreate the scene at Twenty Seven Mile Bluff the site of the first Mardi Gras celebration. They dance to a Indian friendship dance called Stealing Partners and pull people from the audience to join in.

Moonpie Recipe

2005-06-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

I found this on my computer. I don't know where it came from unless it is something my dad wrote for a tv cooking show he did a while back to promote our cookbook. Anyway here is a sneak peak into our book. I thought it was neat.

Mardi Gras, one of the Gulf Coast’s oldest celebrations. If you have lived in Mobile for any extended period, it is likely you have heard of this event. The desert that I will be showing you how to prepare today is Banana Butterscotch Elexis. This particular recipe comes from the cookbook ‘Death by MoonPie’. The author of this confectionary compilation is Doris Dean, with production by Lillian Dean and Wayne Dean. The inspiration for this desert came from Elexis the first, the original King of The Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association.

The last float has rolled down Government Street and downtown is littered with the memories of another fabulous Carnival season. As you walk sadly back to your car with a garbage bag full of throws, you wonder ‘What am I going to do with all of these MoonPies’! Well, there is no need to worry; I will show you one way to diminish your domestic stock of MoonPies. Now let’s put on those sequined aprons, and let the good times roll!

The first thing you need to do is gather together a few of those mystical treats, four to be exact, and follow me into the kitchen. If you are reading this I guess you followed my first instructions and found your way to the kitchen. You will just need to gather together a few more ingredients to get started. These ingredients are as follows: one cup of dark brown sugar, two tablespoons of light cream, three tablespoons of butter, one-eighth teaspoon of vanilla extract, four bananas, one-half cup of whipping cream, and one-fourth cup of chopped nuts. As I said you will need four MoonPies, not to be confused with the more common party pies, but they will work also. You will also need a small boiler, a fork, a spoon and four individual desert dishes.

We are ready to begin our carnival creation. First cut each MoonPie in half through the center. Next, place one-half of each MoonPie in one of the individual desert dishes, puncturing each pie all over with a fork. This last step is to make sure our delectable topping seeps into every pore. Now slice one banana over each MoonPie half. Then you are ready to prepare the butterscotch topping. Combine in your small boiler; the dark brown sugar, light cream, butter and vanilla. Cook over a low flame if you are using a gas range or a low setting if you have an electric stove. Stir constantly until the sugar is melted and bubbling. Now pour the mixture over the MoonPie halves and place the other half of the MoonPie on top. Finally, spoon on the whopped cream and nuts to top it off. This should be served immediately.

If you are looking at a table full happy revelers then I guess you have followed the instructions correctly. If you thought this recipe was delicious and simple to prepare then you need to take a look at the cookbook mentioned in the first paragraph ‘Death by MoonPie’. This book contains MoonPie recipes for all occasions as well as many historical facts about Mobile Mardi Gras. When all your friends start asking you, what do you want with those MoonPies, give them a wink and a hearty Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

My Seventh Joe Cain Day Parade

2005-06-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some old pictures and found these. This is from the Joe Cain Day parade when I was six years old. I have been parading in this parade since I was 2 weeks old so this was my seventh parade in this organization. How many people have paraded in more that 65 Mardi Gras parades before the age of 35? Please I want to know leave a comment. I had my picture in the paper the first time I ever paraded with a caption 'Mobile's youngest reveler'. My love and dedication to Mardi Gras has not diminished since that day.

Back then the parade ended with a celebration and picnic in the Church Street Graveyard. It was that way for many years until some people started complaining. I have so many wonderful memories of Joe Cain back then. Oh and I am officially a charter member of the Joe Cain Society and have the certificate to prove it.

In the early day their were tons of people that walked in the parade. We walked every year. I love walking in that parade because you are right there with the crowds of people and you can interact with them more. Years later after my dad became the emblem, Chief Slacabamarinico, we rode in the wagon leading the parade. Even then some years I would roller skate behind the wagon or get on and off the wagon during the parade. In recent years I decided to start walking again.

Anyway, here are the pics I thought they were neat. The other people in the pictures are my mom and dad and my sister is in the stroller. She was a about a year old. In the picnic picture my Aunt Liss who passed away last year was with us.

Artist Devlin Wilson

2005-05-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

I thought this was pretty cool. My son's uncle is a local artist. I am not a critic so I don't know how good he is but some of the pictures of the historic homes around here I like. He has his own website but recently he had his picture on the front of the Lagniappe which is the up and coming independent paper here. I call it the downtown paper because the way of thinking in this paper is more like the people in downtown and midtown Mobile rather than those west Mobile people. Anyway, his picture was on the cover in reference to Arts Alive festival. He won an award for the 'Best Mobile Scene'. His painting was entitled 'The Peanut Man'. You can see it on his website. Just thought it was cool.

Devlin Wilson Fine Arts

The Lagniappe

Crazy Alabama Laws

2005-05-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

THESE APPLY ANYWHERE IN ALABAMA.

1. It is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy.

2. It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle. (Was this really a huge problem at some point?)

3. Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.

4. It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.

5. Putting salt on a railraod track may be punishable by death. (DEATH!!)

6. Boogers may not be flicked into the wind. (HAHAHAHAHA)

7. Bear wrestling matches are prohibited.

8. It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile. (I keep my lantern with me at all times just in case.)

9. You must have windshield wipers on your car. (Oops, better get that fixed.)

10. You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time. (Don't think that will be a problem.)

11. Men may not spit in front of the opposite sex. (I think they need to start enforcing this one.)

12. You may not drive barefooted. (Everyone does it around here during the summer.)

13. It is illegal to maim oneself to escape duty.

14. Women are able to retain all property they owned prior to marriage in the case of divorce. However, this provision does not apply to men. (I love this one.)

15. Incestous marriages are legal. (So all you brothers, sisters, cousins come on down.)

THERE ARE JUST HERE IN MY TOWN MOBILE.

1. It is unlawful to howl at ladies inside the city limits. (Another one that could use some enforcing. Especially around construction sites.)

2. It is unlawful to wear women's pumps with sharp, high heels. (They could make a fortune off this one.)

Uglystick and Fishbone

2005-05-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night I went to Monsoon's for a concert. Our own local guys Ugly Stick opened the evening. Ugly Stick is one of the most popular bands in the area. They rocked the house. Then the lead band took the stage. Fishbone was amazing. Yes the real Fishbone. Many of you may remember them from back in the last 80s, early 90s. It was the best concert I have seen in many many years. They played for several hours to a packed house. Everyone who is anyone in the bar and music scene in Mobile was there. That of course can be a bit scary. Needless to say I took the next day off from work.

Ugly Stick takes the stage.

Weaver serves up drinks.

Fishbone came to jam.

Noel (center) the owner of Monsoons's and friends.

Some friends from a bar around the corner.

My baby Luke taking up money and watching for trouble.

Don't try this at home!

Tim of Ugly Stick and his lovely lady, Catlin who works at another local watering hole.

Blu Bistro

2005-05-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

Luke and I went to Blu Bistro today for Mother's Day brunch. This is my friends resturant that opened last September. It was wonderful as always. There was a big crowd and lots of kids. Normally there are not too many kids at this place. It is a southern cusine fine dining resturant. A nice place to go and have a romantic evening with someone special or a great place to take friends or clients.

They will be opening for lunch starting June 6th. They are working on their own website and you can see the wonderful menu there.

Blu Bistro

Gas Prices

2005-05-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

I am really getting tired of these high gas prices. Last year I finally got a SUV. I have always driven small compact cars and as my son has gotten older we can't travel in a little car very well anymore. The last time we took a trip to Destin we had the trunk full and the back seat. Gavin hardly had room to fit back there and stuff kept falling on him. I was so excited to finally have an automobile that we could all travel in comfortably. Well to bad the gas prices are going up, up, up. My husband and I are planning a trip to the mountains in Tennessee this June for our anniversary and with gas prices the way they are we are going to have to take his smaller vehicle to save money. So much for traveling in comfort.

ALABAMA METRO FUEL PRICE AVERAGES
Prices updated: 5/4/2005 3:03:09 AM
Birmingham Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current $2.125 $2.271 $2.339 $2.221
Yesterday $2.131 $2.278 $2.345 $2.215
Month Ago $2.097 $2.241 $2.308 $2.213
Year Ago $1.719 $1.838 $1.892 $1.637

Huntsville Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current $2.171 $2.321 $2.390 $2.297
Yesterday $2.171 $2.321 $2.390 $2.302
Month Ago $2.124 $2.270 $2.338 $2.262
Year Ago $1.781 $1.904 $1.960 $1.688

Mobile Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current $2.166 $2.316 $2.384 $2.273
Yesterday $2.174 $2.324 $2.393 $2.286
Month Ago $2.129 $2.276 $2.344 $2.222
Year Ago $1.750 $1.871 $1.926 $1.670

Montgomery Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current $2.141 $2.289 $2.357 $2.252
Yesterday $2.142 $2.290 $2.358 $2.241
Month Ago $2.104 $2.250 $2.316 $2.225
Year Ago $1.732 $1.851 $1.906 $1.620

Tuscaloosa Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current $2.154 $2.302 $2.371 $2.253
Yesterday $2.159 $2.308 $2.377 $2.237
Month Ago $2.097 $2.242 $2.309 $2.216
Year Ago $1.729 $1.848 $1.903 $1.612

Source: AAA's Fuel Gauge Report, the most comprehensive retail gasoline survey available. Other travel information is available at aaa.com.

Bruce Plante, Chattanooga, Tennessee -- Bruce's cartoons are from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.and are available from Bruce's syndicate, "Plante Ink."

Worldview, from a different, top, worldwide cartoonist, six days a week -- For much more visit Worldview, through the courtesy of the Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate.

Carnival is Everywhere

2005-05-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here in Mobile, Alabama we celebrate Mardi Gras. We have the oldest pre-Lenten celebration of this kind in the United States dating back to 1702. Pre-Lenten festivals are held all over the world. My dream would be to go to a different location each year to experience carnival all over the world. This is a link with pictures of Aruba's Carnival celebration. I love the headpieces.

Visit Aruba Carnival 2005

Visit Aruba Carnival 2004

Visit Aruba Carnival 2003

Visit Aruba Carnival 2002

Visit Aruba Carnival 2001

Visit Aruba Carnival 2000

Visit Aruba Carnival 1999

New Orleans Trip

2005-04-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Wow have I been busy. As most of my frequent visitors are aware I just started a new job a little over a month ago and I have a side business that I started in January. Well this month was tax deadline as well as the end of the first quarter so I have been swamped. I know that I have been neglecting my site but I am going to try and get back up to date.

It has been close to a year since Luke and I have been out of town. We usually try to go about three times a year for a weekend trip at least. Well Luke has been wanting to go to New Orleans before it got really hot so a couple of weeks ago I told him if we were going we had to go now.

I booked a room at the New Orleans Grand Palace hotel and we packed. I had planned to take off half a day on Friday but when I got to work my boss said he needed someone to pick up a check two hours on the other side of New Orleans so off I went. We made it to our hotel about 3:00pm and checked. While we were checking in we found out that the French Quarter Festival was going on that weekend. What a treat. The hotel on the other hand was no treat. When we got to our room it was filthy. We went downstairs and told the people at the desk that our room was not clean and there were no towels and that we were going out for a while could they send someone to clean it. We arrived back at the hotel about four hours later to discover nobody had been to the room. I went back to the desk and they said the maid was gone and they could move us to another room. Well, we moved a floor down and got a suite so that was great.

The hotel was out on Canal street past the interstate but the trolley runs out there now so we bought a day pass every day we were they so we could travel back and forth. The next morning we got up early and began dressing. When I was about half way through drying my hair the power went off. I called the office and they said they would send someone up. Half an hour later I gave up and put my hair in a clip and told Luke let's go get breakfast. On the way out I stopped by the desk and told them we still needed the power turned back on. Later that afternoon we returned and there was still no power. I went to the desk once again and was told that we would have to move again across the hall. This was getting crazy.

To back up a little bit. We were only suppose to stay Friday night and Saturday morning we told them that we were going to stay and extra night.

On Saturday we went and ate breakfast at The Corner Oyster Bar and Grill. It was good but it took a long time to get our food. What was crazy to me was how many people were in there drinking at 9:00 in the morning. After that we went to the French Market to shop. Luke and I both got some great sunglasses. We had lunch at a little place that we had not been to before. I can't remember the name but it was really good. After that we decided to ride the ferry across the river to Old Algiers. There is not really a lot to do over there except the Mardi Gras Museum so we just rode back. The quarter was packed with people in town for the festival. It was a lot of fun. We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner The Gumbo Shop.

That night we went down to Bourbon Street. I am not a big Bourbon Street person but there is one bar way down at the far end that most tourist don't venture to. It is the oldest bar in the United States. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop has the best Hurricane's in the world. We stayed there for a long time and Luke had his picture made with one of the guys that plays there all the time. Come to find out this guy played with Fats domino for over 20 years.

The next morning we slept in as last as we could and then got up and check out of the hotel. The lady at the desk said you are prepaid and I said ok and we left. I was prepaid for the first night but not the second. Normally I would have said something but after all the trouble we had I kept quiet. So we got the second night free. We loaded up the car and left it in the parking garage and headed back to the quarter. We went to get coffee and beignets for breakfast from the world famous Cafe du Monde. We strolled around the French Quarter for a while longer and headed home.

Flooding Rain

2005-04-01T11:56:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning to find that I was trapped at my house. It had been raining since before I left work yesterday and it was very heavy most of the night. I live on a corner and I could not see any yards or sidewalks no matter which way I look. Garbage cans and other debris floated by. The water was up to my stairs. I emailed my boss to let him know that I was trapped and would not be in until the water subsided. Luckily, we have pretty good drains since they did some repairs a few years back so the water was almost gone by 9:00am.

FROM NBC 15 NEWS WPMI

Heavy overnight rains prompt flooding, road closures
Last Update: 4/1/2005 1:31:32 PM
Posted By: Devin Walker

(MOBILE, Ala.) April 1 -- In the last 12 hours, parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties have received as much as 12 inches of rainfall.

-- Alabama Power officials say 1,105 people scattered throughout their service area are without power.

-- Balwin County officials will soon open Foley and Daphne High Schools as shelters to meet the needs of residents who need to leave their homes due to flooding. Fish River is expected to exceed flood stage by later this afternoon.

-- NAS Pensacola is open and operating, however due to the severe weather, the Commanding Officer has implemented liberal leave and liberty policy for civilian employees and military members. NASP personnel with questions should contact their immediate supervisor.

Mobile County Road Closures:

Museum at Pat Ryan Drive
Pepper Ridge @ Lloyd's Lane
Museum Dr. at Botanical Gardens
Boykin Blvd at DIP and the majority of the streets along DIP south of I-10
Government St. between Michigan and I-10
Houston St. at Broad St.
Navco Rd. at Morningside Dr.
Three Notch Rd. between Kirkwell at Rosemont
WB at Airport Blvd service rd at Baby's R us and Boats US
Government at Georgia Ave.
Old Shell Rd. at Sage
Clay st at Basil St.
Government st at Breamwood Ave
Hamilton Blvd at Rangeline Rd and Hwy 90
Cody Rd. S at Airport Blvd.
DIP at Driftwood Dr. N
Government St. at Houston St.
Farrell St. at Cotton St.
Douglas at Michigan Ave.
Old Shell Rd at Bay Shore Ave.
Halls Mill Rd at Demetropolis and Lowes Dr.
Girby Rd Between Hillcrest and Knollwood
Halls Mill at Rangeline
Cody at Cedar
Hwy 90 between Kooiman and Plantation Rd.
Clearmont at Houston
Airport at Dauphin from Sage to Florida
Zeigler at Sellers
Bankhead Tunnel at foot of Cochran Bridge
Bellingrath Road at Cold Creek between Highway 90/Fowl River Road - Water Over Road way
Four Mile Road at Highway 188 - Water Over Roadway
Baldwin County Road Closures:

Due to water covering much of the roadway, officials advise motorists to drive Hwy. 59 at their own risk.
County Rd. 32 west of 59
Booth Rd. north of Co. Rd. 44, approximately ten (10) feet of roadway is washed out
County Rd. 27/State Hwy 181 between State hwy 104 and County Rd. 64, under water and impassable
County Rd. 3/South Section St. at Battles Rd. is underwater and partially washed away
Fairhope Ave. between Ingleside Ave. and Fairwood Blvd. is underwater
North Section St. at Rosa Ave. is underwater
Main St./Scenic 98 at Forest Park, guard rail missing and road washed away
Main St./Scenic 98 at Fly Creek under water
State Hwy 104 east of County Rd. 13, water over bridge.
Fairhope Ave. west of Thompson Hall Rd. underwater
Kirkman Lane at South Section St. underwater
South Section St. partially washed away south of Pecan Ave.
County Rd. 1 and areas of Scenic U.S. Hwy 98 in Point Clear under water
Scenic US Hwy 98 at Grand Hotel completely underwater.
County Rd. 32 at Co. Rd. 27/State Hwy 181 under water.

Sick people

2005-04-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

I just do not understand how anyone could do this to a child. The man obviously did not like children and had a past of abuse so why would he volunteer to babysit and if the mother knew of his past she should be charged with child endangerment. Sick, sick people. This kind of things makes me so sad.

FROM THE MOBILE REGISTER

Brutal beating of child alleged
Detective testifies that father described how he killed daughter
Friday, April 01, 2005
By GARY McELROY
Staff Reporter
Shortly after his infant daughter's death, David Allen Austin told investigators that he caused her injuries when he tripped on a child's safety gate and fell on her, a Mobile District Court judge was told Thursday.

But Austin's story changed, according to sheriff's department detective Paul Burch, when the 23-year-old father was presented with photos from the little girl's autopsy and was assured that her injuries could not have happened the way that Austin had said.

Burch said Austin then told him that he killed his 6-week-old daughter, Ashley, by beating her with his fists and grabbing her by the ankles, swinging her around and bashing her head against a door frame.

Ashley's transgression, Burch quoted Austin as saying during the videotaped interview, was that she would not stop crying.

"The injuries here are probably the worst I have ever seen in a child victim as a prosecutor," Assistant District Attorney John Furman said outside court after the hearing.

Burch's testimony in the preliminary hearing persuaded District Judge Charles McKnight to send Austin's capital murder case to a grand jury for possible indictment.

One autopsy photo showed the baby's skull crisscrossed as if by a torn spider-web in a series of fractures and fissures running in several directions.

According to Burch's testimony and previous reports, the unemployed Austin was with Ashley and his 1-year-old son at the family's home on Spanish Trail Drive in Theodore on the night of Feb. 22.

The older child was not hurt.

About 2 a.m. Feb. 23, Austin called 911 to report his daughter's injuries.

The children's mother was away at work at the time, according to Furman.

Burch told McKnight that an autopsy by Dr. Leroy Riddick of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences showed that the little girl had died from blunt force trauma to her head and further revealed that she had broken and injured ribs, some beginning to heal, others newly made.

According to District Attorney John Tyson Jr., in earlier news accounts, Austin had been arrested in July 2004 and charged with domestic violence. Another child from another marriage, now around 4 years old, was once removed from Austin's care.

The district attorney said that in 2000 that child was taken to a hospital with two broken legs, five broken ribs and a fractured skull.

"We have a tough task ahead of us," Mobile defense attorney Rick Yelverton said later outside court.

More on the Spill

2005-04-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

FROM THE MOBILE REGISTER

Chemical truck wreck closed I-10 for 30 hours
Friday, April 01, 2005
By RON COLQUITT
Staff Reporter
After being closed for 30 hours due to the wreck of a tractor-trailer carrying thousands of gallons of a highly toxic chemical, a 5-mile stretch of Interstate 10 in south Mobile County was reopened to traffic about midday Thursday.

The crash on the off-ramp from I-10 east to Rangeline Road occurred shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, and the roads were reopened about 1:05 p.m. Thursday.

No injuries were reported, and about 100 gallons of the chemical did spill.

Mobile Fire-Rescue Department officials ordered the closure of the interstate and several surrounding roads, as well as several businesses in nearby Tillman's Corner, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

Residents evacuated:

People living in at least 100 homes within a half-mile radius also were told to leave.

"It was dangerous, and we were trying to prevent anybody from getting hurt or any further incident to occur," Mobile Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Steve Huffman said. "If we were negligent and didn't do a proper job, we could be sued for it."

The off-ramp remained closed late Thursday while the damaged truck and its tank trailer were removed. The truck's cargo of epichlorohydrin was transferred to another tank trailer.

Huffman said the damaged truck, from Freeport, Texas, was eastbound on the interstate when it exited at Rangeline Road in Tillman's Corner and overturned. It was hauling about 5,000 gallons of epichlorohydrin, which chemical experts say is highly explosive and toxic.

Bound for Degussa:

The epichlorohydrin was bound for Degussa Corp.'s Mobile plant, which uses the chemical in the manufacture of a filler it sells to the pulp and paper industry.

Keith Jones, a spokesman for Degussa, said the German company regularly uses epichlorohydrin but declined to reveal how much. He cited the need to protect trade secrets in a highly competitive business.

Jones said the amount of the chemical Degussa uses varies throughout the year, depending on fluctuations in orders for its product.

He said the company typically receives epichlorohydrin by rail, but the Texas-based supplier sometimes supplements the railroad shipments with trucks.

"That's how this thing transpired," he said. "Only recently, within the last several months, has the supplier not been able to supply it all by rail."

Degussa manufactures thousands of products, including components used in such common household items as toothpaste, pet food and medicine tablets. Worldwide, the firm has 4,500 employees in 90 countries, including roughly 800 at its Mobile plant.

Jones declined to characterize the risk posed by epichlorohydrin compared with the other chemicals in use.

"All chemicals, you have to respect," he said.

Jones said Degussa spends a great deal of energy training its workers in safety. It sent 11 employees to assist with the containment and cleanup following Wednesday's accident, he said.

Members of the fire department's hazardous materials team worked throughout Wednesday night and late into Thursday transferring the chemical to another truck.

Spill contained:

An earthen dike was constructed around the 100-gallon spill to contain it, and Huffman said none of the chemical got into a drainage ditch alongside the exit ramp and about 30 feet from the overturned truck.

Once the interstate was reopened, workers at businesses and people living within the evacuation area were told they could return.

Alabama State Trooper Capt. Oscar Kyles described the ordeal as "nightmare."

He said seven or eight troopers were brought down from the Evergreen post to help.

Officer Eric Gallichant, a Mobile police spokesman, said Thursday that about 50 of the department's officers took turns working at the crash site and helping control traffic along the detour routes.

"Hundreds of hours were spent by the officers at the scene, with some of those hours being overtime," Gallichant said.

Cost of the spill:

The police department's legal team "may attempt to determine if the trucking company is responsible for paying any of the overtime that was worked by officers," Gallichant said.

Gary Bourg, general manager of the Golden Corral restaurant in Tillman's Corner said the business lost about $20,000 in sales during the evacuation.

"We are just fortunate that nobody got injured, that it was taken care of real quick, and there were no injuries," Bourg said. "Corporately, we lost a lot of money, no doubt about it, but we will recover from that."

Just after police lifted their blockade of the area Thursday afternoon, Ed Sykes, general manager of Fire Mountain Grill on Rangeline Road, wore a slightly soiled apron as he rushed a staff of a half-dozen people to prepare the restaurant for dinner.

"We usually have about 80 people. We'll have a full staff later, but for now it's hectic," Sykes said. The corporate owners of the chain, Ryan's Restaurant Group, wouldn't let him say how much money the restaurant had lost during the nearly two-day closure. "But I can say it's a lot of money," Sykes said. "We're trying to open so we can hopefully make some of it back."

Doug Hartley, manager of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse on Rangeline Road, said he had a full staff working in the store within 40 minutes of being notified they could reopen.

"That's what we spent our time doing when we were closed, staying in touch with workers, finding out where they were, keeping them up to the minute," Hartley said. Lowe's representatives at the company's North Carolina headquarters would not comment on what the evacuation cost the company.

Long-term effects?:

All of the businesses located in the evacuation area were impacted by the tanker spill but the long-term effect on the closure will depend on the business' particular category, said Mohan Menon, chairman of the Department of Market and E-commerce in the Mitchell College of Business at the University of South Alabama.

"Every business is impacted in the short term," Menon said Thursday. "There is an immediate loss of sales.

Menon said that the smaller, newer businesses may experience the hardest economic impact.

"Those businesses may not be established enough," he said. "They may not have the customer base because people just stop by. That once-in-a-while customer may not show up for a very long time."

(Staff Reporters Russ Hen derson, Brendan Kirby and Rhoda Pickett contributed to this report.)

Spill Forces Evacuation

2005-03-31T11:52:00.000-08:00

What a traffic mess this has caused. I had a lunch meeting with a couple of friends at The Executive on Hwy 90 where they are re-routing traffic and it was insane. It took me over 20 minutes to get from the interstate exit to the restaurant when normally it would only take 3-5 minutes.

FROM THE MOBILE PRESS REGISTER

Spill forces evacuation
Thursday, March 31, 2005
By RON COLQUITT and SUSAN DAKER
Staff Reporters
A tractor-trailer rig hauling a highly explosive, toxic chemical overturned Wednesday morning as it exited Interstate 10 in south Mobile County, forcing the evacuation of dozens of businesses and homes but no injuries, authorities said.

People within a half-mile radius of the spill were evacuated and several roadways were closed during the ordeal that began shortly after 7 a.m.

Closing the roads -- including I-10 in both directions at Rangeline Road in Tillman's Corner -- led to tremendous traffic jams as drivers tried to find alternate routes. I-10 remained closed late into the night Wednesday.

Cpl. Marcus Young, a Mobile police spokesman, said that before I-10 was closed there were several, minor vehicle crashes on it as people slowed for a better view of the wrecked truck and the many emergency vehicles.

According to Steve Huffman, a Mobile Fire-Rescue Department spokesman who was on the scene, the company that owns the truck said about 400 gallons of the approximately 5,000 gallons of epichlorohydrin leaked from the damaged tanker.

Huffman said, however, that the Fire-Rescue team estimated about 100 gallons had spilled.

The company that owns the wrecked truck estimated the spill at about 400 gallons.

Dean Ulloch, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's emergency response coordinator on the scene, described the chemical as "very nasty stuff ... very explosive, very toxic." He said it hangs close to the ground, and "if you can smell it, you're too close."

Exposure to sufficient quantities of the gas can cause severe damage to the lungs, and can damage the liver, the kidneys and the nervous system, according to hazardous substance data from federal agencies. It is also a severe skin irritant, and passes easily through the skin. The New Jersey Department of Health notes that it is a probably carcinogen, and should he handled with extreme caution.

Danger of fire:

But firefighters were also concerned about another attribute of the chemical.

"It has a flash point of about 87 degrees, meaning if it reaches 87 degrees it could cause a fire," Huffman said.

Late Wednesday afternoon Ulloch said at the scene his first priority was to oversee a safe transfer of the contents of the truck, and his second priority was to control any environmental impacts.

Ulloch said the small quantity of chemical that had spilled had been stabilized to slow its spread. The overturned truck, he said, had been grounded to prevent any sparks and crews were waiting for the proper valves to allow them to pump much of the chemical out of the wrecked truck and into another truck.

Two loads of sand were brought to the scene to build a dike around the damaged truck and the spilled chemical did not spread into a nearby ditch, said Huffman, the fire department spokesman.

Cleanup continues:

Transfering the chemical began about 9 p.m., Huffman said. He said the crew hoped to have the overturned truck emptied and moved by 1 a.m., allowing the interstate to be reopened, although the exit ramp would remain closed while the cleanup continued.

The evacuation order was issued by the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. Huffman said about 6 p.m. that residents who were evacuated should not expect to sleep at home Wednesday night.

"We try to err on the side of caution," he said. "We are not going to move everybody back in until we are positive everything is clear."

Dean Byrnes, the plans and operations officer for the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency, said that the decisions about evacuation were made at the site by the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. He said EMA officials made sure that portable toilets and food, provided by the Salvation Army, were available to workers in the field.

Paula Tillman, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter, said at the scene that a shelter for the evacuees had been set up at Government Street Baptist Church in the 3400 block of Government Boulevard. By 10 p.m., only four people had showed up at the shelter, she said.

Huffman said the overturned truck, from Freeport, Texas, was eastbound on the interstate when it exited at Rangeline Road in Tillman's Corner shortly after 7 a.m. and overturned.

The truck was headed to Degussa Corp. off Rangeline Road and a few miles south of the crash site, Huffman said.

Driver apparently unhurt:

Huffman said the driver of the truck that overturned was either driving too fast or "fell asleep" at the wheel. Huffman said that to his knowledge the truck driver was not injured.

"I would say he walked away, but I think it's more like he ran away," the spokesman said.

About 100 homes were evacuated, according to the Red Cross. None of those evacuated had reported to the shelter as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

I-10 from U.S. 90 to Interstate 65 as well as short stretches of Rangeline Road, Halls Mill Road and other streets in the area of the spill were closed to traffic.

Traffic was rerouted around the blocked roadways, and there were reports of traffic jams on Cottage Hill and Schillinger roads, two of Mobile's main thoroughfares. Some motorists said it was taking from 45 minutes to an hour longer than usual to get around the site.

Business delays:

The traffic snare caused long delays at businesses that rely on deliveries.

As cars and 18-wheelers crept slowly by along U.S. 90 a few miles north of Tillman's Corner, Jesse Ferguson, 65, of Irvington stood with his arms crossed and his back against the brick sign in front of Fausak Tire Center.

Ferguson said he had been staring at traffic since 7:30 a.m., when he arrived to have the brakes on his car replaced. It was then nearly noon.

"It was supposed to be a 30-minute job, but they had to order my brakes from Mobile," he said, nodding at the choked-up road. "My brakes are apparently out in this mess somewhere."

Jimmy and Anne Watt sat in the Taco Bell on U.S. 90 in Tillman's Corner, eating an early lunch and hoping the traffic would clear up a little before they had to hurry back to their Dauphin Island Parkway home.

They care for their quadripelegic son, and didn't want to leave him home alone too long, they said.

"We just wanted to come to Wal-Mart and look at some pretty flowers," Jimmy Watt said. "Instead, we got caught up in this. We decided we might was well have a full stomach while we sit in traffic."

Keith Jones, a spokesman for the Degussa plant, said at the scene that epichlorohydrine is mixed with other chemicals at the plant then sold to the pulp and paper industry to be used as a filler.

Huffman said epichlorohydrine is a solvent that also is used to make plastics.

Teams respond:

Members of the Mobile fire department hazardous materials team and members of a similar team for Degussa responded to the crash.

The fire department team was able to stop the leak about 9 a.m., according to Huffman. He said the plan was to transfer the chemical into another tanker truck and move the damaged truck to a safer area.

The Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and the Wal-Mart Supercenter as well as numerous other smaller businesses were evacuated following the spill.

Wal-Mart officials at the company's corporate office said the corporation would not comment on the evacuation and how much it cost in lost business.

Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman at Lowe's corporate office in North Carolina, also would not comment on what the evacuation cost the company.

The company's concern was "the safety of our employees and our customers," Smith said. She referred other questions to Doug Hartley, manager of the Lowe's that was evacuated.

Hartley said about 75 workers and 75 customers were evacuated. It went off without a hitch, he said.

"Police came in and let us know there was a mandatory evacuation and it was an extremely volatile chemical that had spilled and shut down the business," Hartley said.

"The biggest thing was to get our folks out and the customers out as quickly as possible. It took about 15 minutes to shut the store down, and it was very orderly."

He said the store planned to reopen at its usual time today at 6 a.m. The store usually closes at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, he said.

A U.S. Postal Service news release said that as a result of the evacuation no mail was delivered Wednesday to homes and businesses along Higgins Road, Cyprus Shores Road and Rangeline Road.

U.S. Environmental, a Mobile company that cleans up chemical spills, will handle the cleanup, Huffman said.

(Environment Editor Bill Finch and Staff Reporter Russ Henderson contributed to this report.)

Fairhope Arts & Crafts

2005-03-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning we got up and decided to go across the bay to Fairhope, AL for the annual Arts & Crafts festival. There was a lot going on this weekend and the weather was perfect. Mobile held the Azalea Trail run in downtown and huge crowds gathered to cheer on the runners.

We made it to Fairhope and parked by some beautiful flowers. Fairhope is a cute little colony town and they plant flowers all over their city. Fairhope is located on Mobile Bay and Fairhope pier is one of the main attractions. Downtown is full of cute little shops and this was the setting for the festival. We ended up not buying anything but we had a great time. When we left we traveled down the street to the pier and enjoyed the view for a while and then went a little further down to Pelican Point to see the damage from Hurricane Ivan. Pelican Point bar is another local landmark to a lot of people. It sustained a good bit of damage in the hurricane and from the looks of things I don't know if they will ever open again or not. It doesn't look like anything has been done in the way of repairs and it has been over six months since the storm.

We made it back to Mobile about 3:00pm and I was really tired from all of the walking. Luke laid down and took a nap and I did a few things on the computer. That evening we went to Blu Bistro to check out the new menu and then headed home to watch movies.

Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Parade

2005-03-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Friendly Sons rolled at 11:15 am today after going to mass at the Cathedral. The parade was short but full of St. Patrick's Day spirt and lots of green.

Where have I been?

2005-03-13T13:34:00.000-08:00

Wow it has already been a month since I posted anything. So sorry to all but it has been a crazy few weeks. As most of you know, in January I lost my job which I hated anyway. I began to build my own client list and worked on my own up until Mardi Gras began. I took the two weeks of Mardi Gras for my vacation as I usually do and really enjoyed the season. I hope everyone enjoyed all of the pictures. Once Mardi Gras ended, and a couple of recovery days, I had to get back to work. I continued to pick up more clients and was working a lot for DNC of Mobile, Inc. I have been working with Eddie(the owner) and Cathy(the office manager) for several years through my old job. They are terrific people to work with. In January Eddie and discussed wanting to hire me to handle the books among other things so that Cathy could work as project manager. Once Mardi Gras was over things started happening fast. I was working with all of my new clients and on March 1st I began working full time for DNC. I still have all of my side clients and have the flexibility to do both jobs. In fact I just picked up a new client this past week. Everything is going so well for a change. Maybe 2005 will be a good year after all.

Anyway, I am sorry I have not had time to post anything but as always there is not much going on for a few weeks after Mardi Gras ends. I guess everyone is partied out.

In Mardi Gras societies the meeting after Mardi Gras is their Annual meeting. This meeting is when the officers for the new year are voted on. (CLICK ON THE TITLE LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THIS WRITEUP AND PICTURES.)

On Sunday, March 6th we had our first WBC meeting of the new season. The biggest thing was planning our Summer Swarm and voting on the one new member that we had been screening over the past year. She was voted in by 100% of the members as is the rule. If one person votes no then the prospective person does not get in. We met mid-morning at Patti's condo and had brunch prepared by the members. Charlotte cooked omelets to order for everyone and of course the Balitorie flowed freely. It was a fun day.

This past Thursday my other organization had their annual meeting. I am not able to really take a lot of pictures in this group because of certain people..... (CLICK ON THE TITLE LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THIS WRITEUP AND PICTURES.)

On Saturday the Exchange Club Family Center held their annual St. Patrick's Chili Cookoff and Parade. This year the parade had twelve float filled with people of all ages. Cabbage, potatoes, carrots as well as beads, moonpies and candy were thrown to the crowds. My son tried to catch a head of cabbage that was thrown as a high rate of speed and spang his wrist but in true Dean family spirit continued to pick up goodies and did not complain until he got home and wrapped up his wrist. You have to expect to sustain an injury every now and then if you attend an event where you know people will be throwing things at you. As usual in Mobile there are signs posted along the parade routes letting people know not to park on the streets there for two hours before, during and after the parade. For some reason people ignored the signs and were parked all along Conception Street. We watched while cars where towed away. Not even the rich get special treatment when it comes to parking on parade routes. The police department towed a Mercedes and joked with the tow truck driver about getting a BMW and Mercedes in the same day. As the truck began to pull off with the Mercedes the owner came running up to try to save his vehicle but it was too late. He should have been paying closer attention when parking. The truck made it's way down the street with the car's alarm blaring for all to admire.

The cookoff was great with booths from the Mobile Mystics as well as the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, who will parade on Thursday. There were games for the kids, hotdogs, snow cones and beer for every Irish person to savor.

Read the article for the Mobile Register
Parade, cook-off dish up Irish fun
Sunday, March 13, 2005
By STEVE MYERS
Staff Reporter>

Mardi Gras Ball Pics

2005-03-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that I just got developed from a ball I attended. I am not going to say the name of the organization because I am posting pictures of maskers without their masks.

This is the Order of Juno train that I talked about in a previous blog. I love it. I think that it is one of the most beautiful trains I have ever seen.

Tillman's Trickster & Krewe de Spaniards

2005-02-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

Gavin and I met my dad and grandmother at the Tillman's Trickter's parade. The parade has always been very small but this year it seemed even smaller than normal. There were only three floats with members and the rest of the parade was advertisements and various groups from the community. I was not very impressed but we had fun anyway.

Read the Article from the Mobile Register
Community Carnival parades take center stage
Crowds enjoy festivities outside downtown Mobile
Sunday, January 23, 2005
By ELIZABETH STUART and PENELOPE McCLENNY
Staff Reporters

After we left there we drove across the bay to Malbis for the Krewe de Spaniards parade. They had the parade in the new Eastern Shore shopping center. I have never been to a Mardi Gras parade in a shopping center before. I don't think that is a very good setting. The parade was pretty good. The members threw a lot and there was a pretty big crowd. However, I don't know who came for the parade and who was there shopping and walked outside to see what was going on. The Spaniards rented a few of the Conde floats from last night. The floats actually looked better in the daytime than they did last night.

Read the Article from the Mobile Register
Mall parade brings out the crowds
Krewe's seventh parade, staged at Eastern Shore Centre shopping mall, draws thousands more than last year's procession
Monday, January 24, 2005
By PENELOPE McCLENNY
Staff Reporter

We are not going to the Krewe de Carnival parade because I have two balls tonight and have to get dressed now.

Mardi Gras News

2005-02-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

Infant Mystics

2005-02-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

King Felix arrived at the foot of Government on Monday and control of the city was given over to the King of misrule. I was sick and decided to stay home and rest for the Infant Mystic parade and ball that evening.

Read the Article from WKRG News
High-steppin into Fat Tuesday
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
By ROY HOFFMAN, PENELOPE McCLENNY and RENA HAVNER
Staff Reporter

Mardi Gras Day

2005-02-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

We got downtown about 8am in the morning and found a great parking place that was free. HEHE You have to be a real Mardi Gras person to do that. We went to the Spot of Tea for breakfast and then walked over to the other side of the parade route to buy a t-shirt. The day was packed full of parades starting with the Order of Athena at 10:30. There was a break so we walked back to the car to get a drink. The next set of parades started at 12:30pm with the Knights of Revelry followed by the MCA court and King Felix and his Queen. Finally the Comic Cowboys finished out the midday fun. I went home to change into my dress and hat for the KOR reception. The MAMGA's Mammoth parade was at 3:30pm but I missed it because I was at the reception. The Mammoth parade is a huge parade, the largest on Mardi Gras day. Finally, the fun, exciting but sad end to the day, the Order of Myths rolled at 6:30. I love their parade but I always get a little teary because I know when that last float passes by me that it is all over for another year.

Order of Athena

Knights of Revelry

King Felix and Court

Comic Cowboys

Order of Myths

Joe Cain Day

2005-02-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Joe Cain day is a huge day in Mobile. It is called the 'People's Parade' and is a day that anyone can put on a costume and join in the parade. The Joe Cain parade is made up of many smaller societies such as the Cain Raisers, The Bums and most well known Cain's Merry Widows. The newspaper did an long article about them this year.

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Day of the Widows
Traditional visit by Joe Cain's Merry Widows draws a crowd to the legend's grave
Monday, February 07, 2005
By LAWRENCE SPECKER
Entertainment Reporter

Joe Cain day is one of my favorite days of Mardi Gras. The leader of the parade is the forth person to portray Chief Slac, Wayne Dean, my dad. This year was his twentieth time to lead the parade. There is another group that paraded for the first time this year in Joe Cain and they are The Mistresses. These ladies dress all in red with veils covering their faces. They seem to stir things up a bit especially with the Widows. I think the more the merrier and they make things more interesting. These ladies seem to have a great time.

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Beautiful day brings out Super crowds
Monday, February 07, 2005
By GEORGE TALBOT and RON COLQUITT
Staff Reporters

Read the Article from WKRG News
Revlers Celebrate Joe Cain Day
Kesshia Peyton
WKRG Channel 5
Feb 6, 2005

After the parade I went with my dad to make an appearance at the Maisville Mystics and then headed back downtown to watch the evening parades La Krewe de Bienville and La Femme Cassette. I then went home and changed for the balls that evening.

Mystics of Time

2005-02-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a day of parades. The Floral parade started things off at 12 noon. The Knights of Mobile followed and then the Order of Angels rolled right in tow. That evening one of the most well know and well attended of the parades leading up to Mardi Gras Day, the Mystics of Time rolled through the streets with their famous dragons leading the way. The Dragons, Vernadean the mom along with her little girl Verna and boy Dean are a crowd favorite. Vernadean breaths fire and smoke as she slinks her way through the streets.

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Carnival fires up
Revelers treated to busy day on both sides of Bay
Sunday, February 06, 2005
By GARY McELROY, PENELOPE McCLENNY and ELIZABETH STUART
Staff Reporters

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Criminal's black tie boast
Monday, February 07, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
Register Mardi Gras Columnist

Floral Parade

Knights of Mobile

Order of Angels

Mystics of Time

After the Mystics of Time parade I went over to a very secret organization's reception. The Krewe de Crude have been around for about fifteen years. They have a very secret party and nobody from the media is invited. At about 8:30pm they stage their very short but entertaining street parade. The king for this celebration was King Viagra. After watching the parade I headed back to the auditorium for the Mystics of Time ball.

Crewe of Columbus

2005-02-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Crew of Columbus parade started with a bang. The organization shot off fireworks from the roof of the Civic Center to mark the beginning of the parade. This has been the practice of the organization since their 75th anniversary. The parade was fun even thought throws were not as plentiful as they had been for the past few parades. The Order of Venus rolled about twenty minutes later to a much smaller crowd. The ladies who are were suppose to parade on Tuesday behind the Order of Lashe's were allowed to parade on this Friday. I wonder who they know to get such a deal?

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Clear skies welcome busy weekend of Carnival parades
Crewe of Columbus, Order of Venus roll through downtown Mobile; Maids of Jubilee parade in Fairhope
Saturday, February 05, 2005
By JEB SCHRENK and MARC ANDERSON
Staff Reporters

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Float 3 scandal goes down in history
Sunday, February 06, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
貰05, Mobile Register

Order of Venus

The Order of Lashe's

2005-02-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Order of Lashe's ball was a lot of fun. The ladies seemed to be in good spirits despite having their parade rained out Tuesday night. They were discussing their options of parading the next evening or on Thursday after the Stripers. Their was suppose to be a chance to make that decision the following day. According to an article in the paper they were not given that choice and were forced to parade in the rain the next evening while the Order of Venus who is a newer organization was allowed to parade on Friday evening after the Crewe of Columbus. I will watch for more details as this saga continues.

The Lashe's did finally parade on Wednesday and even though it was a wet evening it was not cold and the parade looked terrific. The ladies never disappoint even in the worst of conditions.

Read the Article from Mobile Register about the cancellation
Tuesday's parades rained out
LaShe's, Venus to roll downtown tonight
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
By BEN RAINES
Staff Reporter

Read the Article from Mobile Register about the parade
Light crowd greets LaShe's
Thursday, February 03, 2005
By BEN RAINES
Staff Reporter

Read the Article from Mobile Register about the controversy
Marching orders anger LaShe's
Group says police forced them to roll Wednesday, under less-than-ideal conditions
Friday, February 04, 2005
By BEN RAINES
Staff Reporter

Read the Article from Mobile Register about the Ball
A scientific look at Mardi Gras
Thursday, February 03, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
Mobile Register

Mystic Stripers

2005-02-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night the Mystic Stripers Society held their parade and ball. I am a past Queen of this organization and always attend the parade and ball. Their parade always draws a large crowd because they are know for throwing a lot. This year was not exception. The parade was beautiful and everyone went home with bags of goodies. One of their floats broke down and again the police department made the members walk back to the auditorium from over twelve blocks away. The ball was terrific and I stayed until the end.

Read the Article from Mobile Register about the Parade
Mystic Stripers provide thrills during chill
Estimated crowd of 76,000 largest of 2005 Carnival season
Friday, February 04, 2005
By RHODA A. PICKETT
Staff Reporter

Read the Article from Mobile Register about the Ball
High heels and comfy shoes
Saturday, February 05, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
Register Mardi Gras Columnist

Marry Mates and Mystical Ladies

2005-02-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

On Monday night the Marry Mates, a couples organizations, and the Mystical Ladies a fairly new ladies group paraded in the rain with very few people on the streets. I have done this before and I know how they felt so I was there to support them. We caught a lot of things and had a good but soggy time at the parades. I did not have tickets to the ball tonight so I went home to get some rest.

Read the Article from Mobile Register
One parade group cancels, but others carry the day
Rain won't keep them away
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
By RENA HAVNER
Staff Reporter

Pharohs, Conde Explorers and Neptune

2005-01-31T14:18:00.000-08:00

Read the Article from Mobile Register
One parade group cancels, but others carry the day
Pharohs, Conde Explorers and Neptune's Daughters keep Sunday parade-goers happy
Monday, January 31, 2005
By KAREN TOLKKINEN and STEVE MYERS
Staff Reporters

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Those amazing queens
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
Mobile Register

The Pharohs and a new organization the Conde Explorers rolled down the streets with beautiful weather on Sunday afternoon. The Pharohs have been parading for twenty years and they always look great. I attended their annual ball held at the Temple downtown and really enjoyed watching the pharaoh and his lovely ladies dance. The Conde Explorers are new this year and unlike most organizations is made up of men and women and people of different races. Their were also children in the parade.

Conde Explorers

That evening I caught the Neptune Daughter's parade on Government Street and then headed over to their ball. We stopped on the way to the ball to visit with some friends at their hotel room. I later heard that one of their floats had a problem and instead of the police allowing them to board other floats they made the ladies on that float walk back to the auditorium. That doesn't seem very safe to me. Their ball was a lot of fun.

Order of Inca

2005-01-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

The Inca's prepared to parade on Friday night despite the threat of rain. As I stood a couple of blocks from the beginning it began to sprinkle and then get a little harder. However, I am not one to let a little rain run me off. If these guys are going to get aboard their floats to entertain then I will be there to watch. Luckily, as the last float passed by me the rain quit and the guys had the rest of the parade to dry out before their ball.

The theme of the evening was 'I want to be'. The theme and most of the floats were designed by two good friends of mine and they did a terrific job. Craig Stevens build has built the Inca floats for several years now and they are some of the most beautiful you will see on the streets. I guess all that training under my favorite float builder, Steve Mussel of the Mirth Company, paid off. Floats consisted of: I want to be a millionaire, I want to run with the bulls, I want to live in a harem and I want to be a country boy among others. My favorite was I want to be a rock star, with figures of the members of Kiss on the float and the maskers dressed with masks to match and long, wild black wigs. The Inca's don't throw as much as some groups but they throw all the good stuff. I caught a sleeve of theme cups, tons of beads, a couple of stuffed animals and a Inca bead which I wore to the ball.

Read the Article from the Mobile Register
Incas roll despite chilly weather
Apollo's Mystic Ladies parade through Daphne
Saturday, January 29, 2005
By JEFF AMY and BRENDAN KIRBY
Staff Reporters

Read the Article from NBC 15
Crowds brave cold and rain to watch Incas and Mystic Ladies
Last Update: 1/29/2005 10:03:29 PM
Posted By: Ron Reams

The Inca's are one of the few organizations that did not parade in their beginning. They were know for wonderful and lavish tableaus. Thankfully, when they did begin parading their tableaux did not suffer. They put on one of the best shows of any of the parading organizations. The great god Inca appears in a burst of flames from either side of the stage. He dance around the floor to the beating drums and took his place to the side of the stage to watch the show. It began with people getting off a plane on Fantasy Island and an old man trying to figure out what his fantasy was going to be. He found himself at a carnival speaking with a fortune teller, a palm reader and spinning the wheel of fortune. The fortune teller told him the his fantasy was the he wanted to be a rock star and the members of Kiss float came out jamming on their guitars. The old man did not like this so he went to see the palm reader who told him the he wanted to be a pirate. Pirates looking for treasure emerged and ended up finding an Auburn flag. Cheer and boos ensued from the crowds. This was not satisfactory to the old man so he proceeded to spin the wheel of fortune and learned that he wanted to run with the bulls. No, that was not it either so he went to the grave yard to speak with the spirit of Alabama coach Bear Bryant. This lead to more cheers and boos from the crowd and I did not think they would ever calm down. The Bear told him he could have any fantasy he wanted and he said yes and I want to be a Greek God. At this point the leader of the organization made his appearance in a horse drawn chariot and proceeded to the stage to wait for his Queen. Queen Mary Margaret, the goddess of love graced the onlookers with her presence with an elegant ensemble. These guys never disappoint the ball goers.

Read the Article from the Mobile Register
Gator emerges despite the cold
Sunday, January 30, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
貰05, Mobile Register

Mobile Mystics and Open Houses

2005-01-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the Mobile Mystics paraded at the early time of 12 noon. The day parades normally would roll at 2:30 but because of the Senior Bowl the city asked them to go early so there were would be enough police coverage.

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Multiple parades hit Coastal area
Sunday, January 30, 2005
By RUSS HENDERSON and DAN MURTAUGH
Staff Reporters

Read the Article from Mobile Register
Styles of madness
Monday, January 31, 2005
By THE MASKED OBSERVER
Mardi Gras Columnist

Also that afternoon I went to the Order of Lashe's and the Comic Cowboys open house at their float barns. The floats for the Lashe's were really nice and the Comic Cowboys floats were 'without malice' very funny.

Saturday Night I made a stop at the Mobile Mystics ball that was held at the convention center. They had a very large crowd as usual but the maskers seemed a little tired as they came off the stage. This was possibly due to the early time they had their parade. After leaving I made my way over the Civic Center only to find out that the doors were closed for call outs. After a little begging and pleading I was allowed to enter and view the tableau's. As with many of the older non-parading groups this organization did many very well choreographed skits. The emblem peacock opened the ball with her large headdress and peacock plumes dragging the floor behind her. To close the tableaux the lovely queen made her appearance with one of the most beautiful trains I have ever seen. The train had a large multi-colored peacock that covered the whole train. I did take some pictures at the ball but with a disposable camera and I will post them as soon as I can.

Tillman's Trickster & Krewe de Spaniards

2005-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00