Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would!

Today is officially Mardi Gras! Or Fat Tuesday! Or the day before Ash Wednesday! lol. This means that this city has been in official party mode for over two weeks. Oh, did you think that parades only happen on Mardi Gras day? Well, let me tell you…they don’t! They happen ALL THE TIME!

We’re a little worn out from life in this house right now. So I’ll confess that unlike many of my fellow city dwellers, Mike and I only made it to one parade (well two and a half but they were all on the same route). But we went to my favorite parade…Muses! AND! We went with some fabulous members of the New Orleans Modern Quilt Guild and their long-suffering husbands. Teehee! Poor fellas. They love us but we do drag them here or there and make them wonder why we could possibly need yet another piece of fabric. I think they should start their own support group!

I took a number of pictures and the parades were at night, so pardon any slight blurriness or crazy hair (I like to call it Mardi Gras hair).

Kaelin, Karen, and I got together for the Muses parade on Thursday night and during part of the evening, we had a now-rare 🙁 Mandi sighting! and Lana joined us. So that is actually 5 out of the 6 of us who were all on our retreat together last fall. Pretty cool! (Cherie lives farther away, but don’t worry, we caught some things for her!)

Here is me, Kaelin, and Karen near the beginning of the parade. (We took a pic afterward with even more of our loot!)

Do you know what today is?  If you lived in New Orleans you would

But before Muses, the Krewe for Chaos went by…and I’m not sure what the parade was before that. Mike and I only caught the end of that one.

Do you know what today is?  If you lived in New Orleans you would

All of the people on the floats wore masks traditionally because it’s supposed to be anonymous gifts. (They actually pay a lot of money to ride on the floats and throw things to us poor lowly folk!)

Do you know what today is?  If you lived in New Orleans you would

Do you know what today is?  If you lived in New Orleans you would

Here are the two goofballs who were with me. I had a really nice picture of them, but it turned out super fuzzy. Darn. That’s okay…they liked the goofy one better.

Do you know what today is?  If you lived in New Orleans you would

Only in New Orleans would you have a bunch of men walking through the parade with open flames! I think that this is a long-standing tradition that helped to light the way along the route and let you know that the parade was coming. (Now the parade always begins with police cars and firetrucks! lol)

Do you know what today is?  If you lived in New Orleans you would

I think that every Krewe has a King and a (much younger) Queen. I don’t remember the queen, but I did get a shot of the King. Not to be confused with the official King of Mardi Gras who rides in the Rex parade.

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

It’s very common for the floats to have a political theme…not always my favorite, but hey…I’m not paying for it. lol.

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

The floats are always interspersed with local school marching bands and dance teams, random groups that get together (like the huge group of Elvis impersonators on scooters and mini bikes!), and mini floats with live performers.

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

This was at the beginning of Muses. You can see the Live Oak tree beautifully lit up and some of the beads hanging from the tree. There are always beads that hang in the trees along Saint Charles Avenue all year long! They just get stuck there!

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

We love Muses because it is a Krewe of all women and they know how to do a parade! They have the best throws hands down. In fact, I don’t think I caught any beads from them…it was all novelty items. And in true female style, this is one of the very first floats!

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

The official first float!

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

Then there are a bunch of these lit butterflies carried individually along with lit shoes and they all move. These move like they are flapping their wings. Each is being carried by a man who is holding these on long poles and they float above everyone’s heads!

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

Here’s Mike and I enjoying the parade by sitting down and drinking some tasty adult beverages. I think we actually caught more sitting down!

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

One of the first things I caught…and probably one of the few that didn’t light up! lol

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

Oh yes…the two goofballs again.

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

Karen doesn’t look very scared of Kaelin’s stuffed crab. 😉

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

I love this float! There are always bubbles coming out the back too!

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

Tired and worn out at the end of the parade, but happily showing off many of our fun catches! I love the Muses bedazzled bracelet my hubby caught for me that I’m showing off in this pic. I’m totally going to wear that anywhere. lol.

  Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would

Ahh…good times.

So, what does your quilt guild do together? 😉

13 thoughts on “Do you know what today is? If you lived in New Orleans you would!”

  1. I absolutely love your post and your pictures turned out so cute! I may have to swipe one or two of them 🙂

    Did you all have fun at Thoth the other day? We missed you!

  2. Oh, I am so sad that I didn't get to go…I'll put in for my day off for next year, though! I have a few friends who ride in Muses and march with the Muff-a-lotta's as well as one's husband who is an Elvis on a scooter 🙂

  3. That looks like so much fun. I've always wanted to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, it is totally on my "to do" list! Thanks for sharing your pics!

  4. Great pictures. I didn't realise Mardi Gras was so involved. It looks like so much fun! Wish I could have teleported over and tagged along.

  5. Wasn't that parade fun? It's a week later & we're all still recovering! We got a whole bag of those glitter letter bracelets & I've been trying to figure out what else I can spell…. If you flip the M, you get a W. So, I can spell ME SEW if I combine letters…. it's a challenge, but I will come up with something clever!

    SOOOO good to see y'all! I wish my kids had been more cooperative & we would have stayed over there catching up for ages!

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