 

These lrightening celebranls are riding on a float in the Krewe of iris parade. They respond to the
traditional cry of "throw me something, mister!” by tossing trinkets to the crovyd lining St. Charles

Avciiuc. Photos by s. Silhcrberg.

by noon Mcllvuiiic

While many Grinnellians In-
tlulged In the festivities of the
Loose Hall Hall, a small, ad~
venturous band of scholars jour»
neyed to New Orleans, that distant
land of the colorfullV decadent and
wild carnival~Mardi Gras They
had no reason to go, other than to
escape the bitter cold of the Iowa
winter. Warm weather and t-shirts
_sounded great,

Anxious to leave, they qutckly
cruised to St Louis where they
found the “double-nickel” (Inr
terstate 55), the yellow brick road
to a warm, wanton weekend.

Streetcoriier musicians can bc
Iouiul nearly everywhere during
Mardi ,. iii the background.
empty cups from Fat O‘Brien's
attest to a previous evening oi
sampling the infamous
"Hurricane.”

't'titatu-z has no time to lose. The
carnival had begun in January.
with the ﬁrst of the liftyrodd
parades which would continue into
February. Speeding through the
darkness. snow still lined the highs
\vaysih’lissouri. Arkansas;
Tennesse&still no sign of rcltel
from the cold Could the ex»
pectations ol warm weather be too
high-7

Dawn came quickly as the [un-
scekers emerged from the dense
forests of Mississippi onto the flat
delta of Louisiana. The journey
slowed: they had entered rush hour
traflic heading toward the Queen
city. The change .was startling:
green grass and palm trees had
finally replaced the snow-covered
landscape. The bitter cold was now
merely a memory,

AFTER recuperating [mm the
long trip, they ventured to the
famed French Quarter There,
most of the celebrating centered
around Bourbon Street, And what a

’ sight! The streets overflowed with

all sorts of people, Many were
drunk and apparently having a
great time. Quickly, crowds

gathered around the motley side-

shows that entertained the passersr
by. Street muSicians, dancers,
jugglers, and even an occasional
exhibitionist provided the “party”
with plenty of amusements,

Bars. restaurants. and souvenir
shops lined the Streets, Some
party-goers wore masks while
others painted their laces.
Everyone was merrysmaking

ON SEVERAL occasions Crowds
gathered beneath balconies that
overlooked Bourbon Street From
one, New Orleanians teased the

. crowd by dropping dollar bills and

watching people below scramble
for them. Some of the crowd even
tried to climb street lights beneath
the balcony. It's not every day that
the heavens rain dollar lnlls But.
their efforts were ill l'nm, As the
bills fluttered to the ground, these
ambitious onlookers slid to the

 

same- the poles had been greased
Spectators below would yell up to

the balconies hoping that
doubloons or other trinkets l\ould
be tossed in their outstretched
arms, Other hccklci-s “ould yell up
to an attractive female, in
pectatiou of a spontaneous s p
Shou

The incrryunaking goes on for
days. growing a little more
boisterouscachday. OnTuesdu it
all reaches a deafening conclusion,
At midnight on Tuesday night it
begins to quiet down again. as
many turn their thoughts to the
solemn Lenten season. It is easy to
understand how Mardi Gras is a
good preparation for the quiet.
introspective, Christian season
that follows By the time they left,
the Grinnell scholars had had their
fill of crowds and partying.

FOR THE moment, however,
Mardi Gras was reaching its peak.
and partying was very much on the
participants’ minds. Parades are
very popular because they allow
[or spectator participation. People
on the floats throw favors to the
screaming crowds Specially
minted coins called doubloons,
along with other trinkets, are often
thrown The onlookers quickly
scramble Ior these—bul don’t
reach down for one unless you first
have your foot on it. otherwise you
may lose both your trinket and
your hand.

These large, colorful parades
usually take a year's worth oi
preparation by the many private
social organizations (called
krewes) which sponsor the events,
For months, all the city's social
activities center around Mardi
Gras and its many parades and
balls Each krewc elects a king and
queen to preside over the
organization tor the day One
group. Bacchus, traditionally
elects a celebrity to rule the group,
This year they Chose Ed McMahon.

OTHER enjoyable lieiicrits oi
Mardi Gras are iresh sea food and

An impromptu tightrope walker practices his art in Jackson Square

near the St. Louis Cathedral.

the best U1 traditional Jazz Low
admission price performances.
such as a one dollar show featuring
Woody Allen and the Kidd Thomas
Band. are always “unattended
This group “as so ed

the group leader,

phrcy. when asked for his
autograph. could barely put
enought pressure on the pen to
make ll write.

An amazingly easygoing nt-
titude pervades the uhole
celebration. in spite of all the
partying. the level of destruction
and trouble is low. The city is ve‘
efficient about controlling violence

and cleaning up tons of garbage
that litter the strcets each day,

E\ . though. the
partying too its toll and the
scholars‘ thoughts drifted back to
Grinnell. They hoped it would be
warmer when they returned. The
trip back could be nothing other
than anti-climatic to such a hectic
weekend.

Dreams of warmer weather
wci-c soon shattered as the palm
lrees were replaced by the winter
stlowscapc. Sleepy-eyed and
exhausted, they crawled into beds.
as Visions of Mardi Gras danced in
their heads.

New Orleans architecture is noted [or lovely lattice-work balconies.
This facade overlooks Royal and St. Peter streets. Potted palms serve
to block off the narrow streets from car trafﬁc in the French Quarter.

 

