Mardi Gras Is Coming!

Every year, just as the rest of the nation is winding down after the 1-2-3 punch of Thanksgiving-Christmas/Hanukkah-New Year’s, we in New Orleans are just getting started. The festivities begin on Twelfth Night with the Phunny Phorty Phellows riding the streetcar down St. Charles, heralding the start of Carnival season. The night is also Joan of Arc’s birthday which is celebrated with a parade through the French Quarter. Though not everyone attends events that day, most offices (and many homes) commemorate the season with King Cake. In the last few years, King Cake has become the focus of parties with people bringing cakes from their favorite bakeries and sampling them all.

In our home, Twelfth Night’s passing means turning the Saints’ Who Dat wreath into a Mardi Gras wreath and switching the tree decorations from Christmas to Carnival.

Pussyfooters’ Blush Ball & the David Bowie Parade

Carnival season doesn’t just mean parades. It also means King Cake season and Ball season. This was my 3rd year attending the Pussyfooters’ Blush Ball benefitting the Metropolitan Center for Women and Children (METRO). The balls thrown by the parade krewes are usually formal (though women tend to wear comfortable Keds or flip flops under their gowns) but the balls thrown by dance krewes tend to be more of a “Do whatcha wanna” situation.  At Blush Ball, we Pussyfooters wear our pink and orange corseted parade uniforms and encourage others to wear costumes and pink-it-up! 

Mardi Gras Tree 2016

Mardi Gras is about as early as it can get this year with Krewe du Vieux kicking things off on January 23rd! In New Orleans, we’re all eating King Cake. My genius friend and fellow Pussyfooter dancer ,Christine Miller of Two Chicks Walking Tours, hosts an annual “potluck” where women bring King Cakes from local bakeries and kitchens. (photo below by Elizabeth Zibilich). Like last year, I wasn’t able to attend but was the lucky recipient of a plate of samples from District Donuts Sliders Brew, Hi Do Bakery and the always amazing Manny Randazzo King Cakes. And like every year, I enjoyed the tradition of converting our home’s Christmas tree to a Mardi Gras tree.

Pussyfooters Blush Ball 2015

Like so many little girls, I used to dream of dressing like a pretty pink princess and going to a ball. Since moving to New Orleans in 2009, I not only find occasions to attend balls, I get to be part of throwing an annual ball – dressed all in pink! The Pussyfooters annual Blush Ball is a “Party with a Purpose,” a fundraiser benefitting the victims of domestic violence served by the Metropolitan Center for Women and Children (METRO). But the Blush Ball is also a heck of a good time and a great way to kick of the Carnival season.

Mardi Gras Tree 2015

Mardi Gras is early this year with Krewe du Vieux kicking things off on January 31st. I’m still eating treats from my Christmas stocking but it’s already time for King Cake. I had my first slice at Sucre on the afternoon of Twelfth Night. Throughout the rest of the country, people are taking tinsel of trees and setting them by the curb while here in New Orleans, many of us convert Christmas trees to Mardi Gras trees.

Muses Parade as a Pussyfooter!

This is my 5th full Carnival season in New Orleans but this year’s Krewe of Muses parade was my first time ever dancing in a Mardi Gras parade. It was amazing, like walking through the “Looking Glass” and becoming part of a wonky world full of mystical creatures – where it’s perfectly normal to see Elvis on a motor scooter or a unicorn/bicycle.  It’s a place where I fit right in wearing a pink corset and white combat boots because now I’m a Pussyfooter! We had to line up very early and the last parade always rolls late so we spent a couple hours staying warm by dancing or huddling in swarms of pink ruffles and lace.

Pussyfooters Blush Ball

The Pussyfooters, a spectacular gathering of impressive women over 30, is best known for dancing in parades dressed in burlesque-ish pink and orange figure-enhancing confections. The organization also holds an annual Blush Ball to raise money for various causes benefitting women, children and the community. This year’s “Party with a Purpose” raised $30,000 for the Metropolitan Center for Women & Children (Metro).