Mardi Gras Week: Favorite Memories and Photos

Today is the day when I’ll share some of my favorite Mardi Gras memories and photos.  Feel free to join up your own Mardi Gras posts at the end of this one. 

Like I said, I’ve been doing Mardi Gras since I was a baby:

I just found that photo the other day, that’s me and my grandmother at my first Mardi Gras parade.  She used to dress up every year when she was able.

And here’s my most recent Mardi Gras, last year:

Yes, I am eating a hot dog that I caught in a parade! Trust me, in Louisiana, it is perfectly acceptable to eat food that is thrown at you. 

Even Gidget gets in on the Mardi Gras fun:

They have parades especially for pets.  She hasn’t been in a couple years, but hopefully we’ll get to go again this year.

One year in college a good friend of mine’s family bought a “parade package” at a local New Orleans restaurant.  That was the best, because we had access to a huge buffet and drinks, clean bathrooms (usually very hard to come by during Mardi Gras), plus a primo spot on bleachers along the parade route.  This is definitely the way to do Mardi Gras right if you have the means to do so.  Here we are getting ready to go:

That’s me in the crazy mask. I made quite a haul that year:

Another great way to do Mardi Gras is to set up shop in the neutral ground and tailgate with friends all day.  This year there were kids with us, so we had a ladder seat for us them:

One of my favorite parts of parades are the marching bands and dancers.  Those high school kids really know how to get down!  They wear cute little boots and strut their stuff!  Here’s a look at some of the fun costumes I’ve seen over the years:

And some floats:

Yes, that is a giant toilet.  Don’t ask.

That is a Saints float from at least 5 or 6 years ago.  Who Dat!!

The Smokey Mary float from the Orpheus parade has six cars and takes up more than a city block :

Sometimes it can be a drag when the parade stops in the middle due to a break-down or flat tire.  One year my husband used this opportunity to talk a rider into giving him some very special hot pepper beads:

Ok, I know what you all really want to see….the celebrities!  Most of the larger parades usually have celebrity riders or kings.  And I’ve gotten quite the collection of celebrity photos over the years.  You’ll just have to trust me on this.

Nicholas Cage:

Jon Lovitz:  

Luke Perry:

 

  Hulk Hogan (impersonator):

     

Ha, Ha! Are you jealous of my photography skills and close proximity to major celebrities?!?

I had so much fun looking back on all my Mardi Gras memories.  If you have any to share, or any kind of Mardi Gras blog post, please link up, grab a button, and link back to this blog!

Be sure and come back tomorrow for Mardi Gras crafts.