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.

Krewe of Barkus & King Cake Party

Like many great ideas in New Orleans, Mystic Krewe of Barkus started in a bar. The parade helps raise funds and awareness for dog adoption and other animal services and the weather couldn’t have been better for canine Carnival. Like many parades, the people in the crowd dress up as well and this is one parade where your dogs are welcome. As always, WDSU’s Margaret Orr presided over the festivities from the balcony of Good Friends where it all started. Her genuine affection for the dogs and respect for those who help animals is infectious.

This year’s theme was “From the Dog House to the White House.”