Muses Thursday, Mar 17 2011

Muses Shoe Float

Many parades have very famous themes. Muses is most well known for giving out SHOES! Just check out the float in the picture!

-SB

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Too Many Beads and Not Enough Room? Recycle Them! Wednesday, Mar 9 2011

Now that the high of Mardi Gras is over and you’ve caught more beads than you know what to do with the stuggle of getting rid of the beads sets in. Since no one needs a lot of beads I’ve come up with some ways to lessen your load while giving back to others.

1) Give them to your out of town family. They don’t get to experience the Mardi Gras greatness and will appreciate you thinking of them during that time. Also, the little kids in your family will love them.

2) Donate them to local schools, churches, and other New Orleans organizations. Often the beads are used for arts and crafts projects by the organizations. The Arc of Greater New Orleans, for example, employs people with disabilities and take donations every year to give beads to their employees. Visit their website for more information http://www.arcgno.org/

3) Do your own arts and craft project at home. Here’s just one example of what you can do with left over beads.

4) Save them for next year and hope you can get a balcony on Bourbon or get on a float. Since you’ll have the beads you might as well throw them out!

-VD

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Stuck in your Dorm and can’t go to the Mardi Gras parades? Make your own Mardi Gras Party and call all your Friends to Join the Fun. Thursday, Mar 3 2011

Mardi Gras celebrations are most popular in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras can be celebrated anywhere. If you are stuck at school in your dorm for the holiday, you can still have fun and celebrate Mardi Gras. Follow these easy steps and you can too enjoy the festivities and have a blast in your own dorm:

1.Decorate your dorm room for Mardi Gras by using the purple, green and gold colors of the season. Streamers garland and other decorations can get your dorm room looking festive for the holiday. Mardi Gras music playing in the background always helps set the mood for a Mardi Gras celebration. If you don’t have Mardi Gras songs, tune to a Cajun music station.

2.Dress up in a Mardi Gras shirt or costume. Wearing costumes is a big Mardi Gras tradition. If you don’t want to walk around in a costume, get yourself a Mardi Gras t-shirt, funny hat, and a feather boa in the purple, green and gold colors.

3.Invite friends over to your dorm room to celebrate Mardi Gras together. Mardi Gras is meant to be celebrated with friends and family, following the motto of “the more, the merrier.” Set out some food, turn up the music and have your own parade.

4.Have plenty of Mardi Gras beads in your dorm. If you have a party, throw them around to friends. A Mardi Gras celebration is not complete without beads.

 5.Bake a King Cake or cook a big gumbo for your friends. Mardi Gras tradition includes making a big pot of gumbo to be shared by friends and the community. Everyone can contribute a little to the gumbo by bringing an ingredient to the party.

Either in New Orleans, in a dorm, or just about anywhere, you can enjoy Mardi Gras by just setting the mood, being creative, calling up some friends, but most of all just having fun. Have a Happy and Safe Mardi Gras!!!

-MP

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It’s not Mardi Gras without King Cake Friday, Feb 25 2011

Mardi Gras King Cake!

Every Mardi Gras party needs a King Cake. In my opinion, the all time favorite King Cake in New Orleans has to be from Randazoo (located at 3515 N. Hullen Street in the Metairie area) . I personally love the strawberry and cream cheese filling King Cake even though is not a “traditional” King Cake, is really delicious. If you are interested in a more traditional type of King Cake, I suggest heading out to Haydel’s Bakery (located at 4037 Jefferson Highway). Haydel’s King Cake is more old-fashioned and has a warm cinnamon flavor that will leave you wanting for more!

-MP

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Schedule of the Parades Friday, Feb 25 2011

DAY
Saturday
Sunday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Fat Tuesday
DATE
Feb 19
Feb 20
Feb 25
Feb 26
Feb 27
Mar 2
Mar 3
Mar 4
Mar 5
Mar 6
Mar 7
Mar 8
PARADE
Krewe du Vieux
Lil Rascals
Cork
Oshun
Cleopatra
Excalibur
Eve
Atlas
Choctaw
Adonis
Pontchartrain
Nemesis
Olympia
Sparta
Caesar
Pygmalion
Carrollton
Alla
Dionysus
Rhea
Thor
King Arthur
Barkus
Ancient Druids
Babylon
Muses
Chaos
Hermes
Krewe d’Etat
Selene
Orpheus
Morpheus
Centurions
NOMTOC
Iris
Tucks
Endymion
Isis
Okeanos
Mid City
Thoth
Bacchus
Napoleon
Proteus
Orpheus
Zeus
Zulu
Rex
Elks Orleans
Crescent
Argus
Jefferson Trucks
Elks Truck
Grela
BES
PLACE
French Quarter
Metairie
French Quarter
Uptown
Westbank
Metairie
Mandeville
Metairie
Westbank
Westbank
Uptown
Chalmette
Covington
Uptown
Metairie
Uptown
Uptown
Westbank
Slidell
Metairie
Metairie
Uptown
French Quarter
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Slidell
Mandeville
Uptown
Metairie
Westbank
Uptown
Uptown
Mid-City
Metairie
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Metairie
Uptown
Uptown
Metairie
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Uptown
Metairie
Metairie
Metairie
Westbank
Westbank
TIME
6:30pm
12:00pm
3:00pm
6:00pm
6:30pm
7:00pm
7:00pm
7:30pm
11:00am
11:45am
2:00pm
2:00pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
6:45pm
12:00pm
12:00pm
1:00pm
2:00pm
3:00pm
1:15pm
2:00pm
6:30pm
5:45pm
6:15pm
6:30pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
6:30pm
7:00pm
7:00pm
7:00pm
10:45am
11:00am
12:00pm
4:15pm
6:30pm
11:00am
11:45am
12:00pm
5:15pm
5:30pm
5:15pm
6:00pm
6:30pm
8:00am
10:00am
11:30am
Follows Elks
10:00am
Follows Argus
Follows Jefferson Trucks
11:00am
Follows Grela
2011 MARDI GRAS PARADE SCHEDULE

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Track Parades on your Phone Friday, Feb 25 2011

Need more information on parade routes, times, and just Mardi Gras happenings? WWLTV.com is the place for you to go. Their Mardi Gras central at http://special.wwltv.com/mardi-gras/ is a one stop place for all your needs. This year they even have a tracker that you can download for your iPhone or Android phone. The app lets you “Follow the parades in real-time on your phone. Find Schedules, Routes, Event Listings and more…” So check it out before your go to the next parade.

-VD

Screen Shot of Parades to Follow

Screen Shot of Parade Route

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Maximizing Your Bead Intake Friday, Feb 25 2011

Maximizing our bead ROI

Your bead take can vary according to a few principles. Experience is important, but there are a few strategies you can take in order to catch more beads than you know what to do with.

•Pick your location wisely. If you’re around a pack of teenagers, they will be going after beads pretty intensely. Older people get tired quicker and give up. Camping near little kids can be good, but don’t take beads thrown specifically to them. Get a feel for where the riders are throwing beads, if it’s further away, move back from the road. I’ve had the best luck with being closer to the floats.

•Be ridiculous. If you just yell at float riders, they won’t throw you anything. If you compliment their costume or say you have the same one at home, you’re golden. Humor is your biggest asset in getting a rider’s attention. But remember, you only have 3-5 seconds to get your message across.

•Plan your parades. Parade riders vary in the amount of throws they purchase. By choosing more prominent parades on days such as Lundi Gras or Mardi Gras, you’re ensuring that the riders will have plenty of product to distribute.

•Not all beads are equal. When you catch a bag of small beads, think twice about keeping them all. Anyone can catch those and all they do is slow you down. Riders seem more inclined to toss beads at people who aren’t already covered with beads.

-JP

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Welcome to New Orleans! Friday, Feb 25 2011

Mardi Gras Float

The city is not the home to Mardi Gras, but we probably do it best. Parade season is a major event for New Orleans that brings a lot of tourists, business and great experiences to the area. Parades started rolling as early as January 6th this year, however, the majority starts a couple of weeks preceding Mardi Gras day. This year Mardi Gras day will fall on March 8th and, as always, on a Tuesday. We plan to attend, research, and enjoy many of the New Orleans area parades.

Mardi Gras started in Mobile, Alabama and did not reach New Orleans until the 1730’s. Over the years the celebration and traditions have evolved with the city. Parades did not occur until the late 1830’s. After that, Mardi Gras in New Orleans became more recognizable to what it is today. If you are a tourist, have been here your whole life, or anything in between, Mardi Gras can be a new experience each year.

I’m done with the post, but wanted to leave y’all with an interesting history fact: In 1875, Governor Warmoth of Louisiana signed the “Mardi Gras Act” making it a legal holiday in Louisiana, which it still is.

-SB

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