Mardi Gras live!

Mardi Gras has arrived on a cold February day. But the cold temperatures will not dampen the spirit of this year's Mardi Gras. The major parades today include the Zulu and Rex, both of their Kings, Jimmie Felder and Hunter Pierson having been revealed, along with Rex Queen, Katherine Duncan. Zulu's president, Charles Hamilton, Jr., hand delivered a specially painted coconut to President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. on Monday. Handing out painted coconuts along their parade route is one of the traditions of the Krewe of Zulu. The Krewe of Bacchus had a very special king this year, namely Drew Brees, who everyone knows, has deservedly achieved the status of royalty in New Orleans. The printed coverage of Mardi Gras is nola.com, and live coverage is WDSU, if you care to follow some of it today, to get of flavor of what it is all about.

From Superbowl weekend to Mardi Gras

The excitement of the upcoming events has all of southern Louisiana in a frenzy. It's really quite a phenomenon! We had a Black and Gold Friday pizza luncheon at work today with background music appropriate for the occasion, starting off with, "When the Saints Go Marching In." I forgot to wear a Saints T-shirt, but fortunately, wore a tan work shirt, so I wasn't too far off. Someone thought it might be a nice touch to take a picture of the USDA Who Dat Nation. They forwarded it to everyone, so I am posting it here. I can't even imagine what this area is going to be like if the Saints win the Superbowl. It will be total non-stop craziness from the win until Mardi Gras has passed. Geaux Saints!!!

Mardi Gras parades will be rolling tonight in many areas besides New Orleans. In Houma the Krewe of Hercules will begin rolling at 6:00 PM down and will go through downtown. Parades will continue to roll all the way up to Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) on February 16 this year. Win or lose, there will be an added parade to pay tribute to the Saints this coming Tuesday (Feb 9).

Mardi Gras Live!

Today is Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras is only hours away. The weekend was filled with parades in New Orleans and surrounding communities. The party atmosphere really goes into overdrive from here on until midnight tomorrow night. While there are numerous dedicated Mardi Gras websites, Bourbon Street web cams, etc., my personal recommendation would be to go to WDSU TV. It's live and the crew following the various parades do an excellent job. You can watch live, or sample some of the videos at the bottom of the webpage to get a sense of what Mardi Gras offers those who flock here to see the spectacle.

I'm heading out of town tomorrow...going to Cary, North Carolina...to brush up on the statistical packages that SAS has to offer. Training isn't cheap, but the statistician at our area office had built up some extra credit, so she is allowing me to take advantage of the credit she had built up, which I am very grateful for. Timing is good, to get away from the craziness, but Judy is going to have to drive me to the New Orleans Airport, since it's pretty much a given that there won't be any parking spaces available.

A Sunday in the New Orleans Garden District

On Sunday, I was invited to speak in the New Orleans 1st Branch. As background information, when a congregation is too small to fully function as a ward, then a branch is formed. The ecclesiastical leader of a Branch is referred to as a Branch President, rather than a Bishop. So we are talking about a small unit. The members worshipping in the New Orleans 1st Branch live in the uptown New Orleans area. They include students and teachers attending Tulane and Loyola Universities nearby. The chapel (also referred to as the uptown chapel) is located in the famed Garden District of New Orleans at 3616 St. Charles Avenue. You can actually see what the chapel looks like on Google Maps Street View. At or near the above address, it's the red brick building with the plain steeple as you point north .

On my speaking assignment, I invited Bro. DiMaggio to come with me. Bro. DiMaggio is an older member who has a wonderful self-effacing sense of humor, and is a delight to be with as a travelling companion. We spoke on the 6th Article of Faith having to do with church organization (similarity to the church that Christ organized while He was on the earth), and discussed the priesthood offices in the church including apostles and prophets, all the way down to the young deacons (12-13) and teachers (14-15) who passed the sacrament to the congregation. I was not too surprised to learn that about half of the congregation was made up of out-of-town visitors. Apparently, this is not too uncommon. It reminded me of our first church experience in Hawaii in the Waikiki Ward, and our experience attending the Hyde Park Ward in London. The vast majority of church members who live in the New Orleans area, are in the suburbs, especially Metairie, Kenner, and the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Within the New Orleans Stake, our Thibodaux Ward is the furthest away from New Orleans, and the more affluent Covington Ward on the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain is the largest, certainly in active priesthood attendance.

While many associate New Orleans with Mardi Gras and the French Quarter, New Orleans has so much more to offer. Whenever we take visitors to New Orleans, we try to make a special point of taking them on St. Charles Avenue so that they get some exposure to the architecturally delightful Garden District, especially at the end of St. Charles Avenue where Audubon Park and Zoo are located. The French Quarter is a whole different experience, and has much to offer. It is like a city within a city, sort of like some of the old European cities that have a old fortified city area that is surrounded by the modern city. The best part of the French Quarter, in my view, is NOT Bourbon Street, which way too commercialized for my taste. I much prefer walking from Jackson Square down some of the other French Quarter streets like down Chartres St., returning on Royal St., taking in a few perpendicular avenues, and avoiding Bourbon Street altogether. I guess you have to do a little bit of Bourbon Street, just so you can say that you did.

After the three-hour church block, we couldn't get onto St. Charles Avenue because of a Mardi Gras parade. So we ended up taking a back street to get out. Mardi Gras parades will be coming at us fast and furious until Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) next week.

Fleur-de-lis connection to Louisiana

While Louisiana has no special claim to the fleur-de-lis, it is prominently displayed in this part of the world. It is associated with the New Orleans Saints football team. It will be on prominent display during Mardi Gras. I suppose some of this has to do with its French name and connection. So here is a little history about the fleur-de-lis (fleur-de-lys, singular). The Wikipedia web page includes pictures of some of the coats of arms and flags that use the fleur-de-lis. The scouting organization recently updated their logo, of which the fleur-de-lis continues to be its central element. On October 16, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act which authorizes the minting of 350,000 silver dollar coins in recognition of BSA’s 100th Anniversary in 2010. The Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910. These coins will prominently display the fleur-de-lis. There are some rather creative fleur-de-lis out there, and here is a small sampling: wildlife version, Craw-de-lis version, monarch butterfly version, New Orleans Hornets version, and finally a link to New Orleans Fig Street Studio that uses fleur-de-lis designs in many of their products.

King Day today officially kicks off carnival season in New Orleans

The city of New Orleans officially kicked off the Carnival season today as Mayor Ray Nagin hosted his annual king day party with an official proclamation from Rex, the King of Carnival. What follows is seven weeks of festivities leading up to Mardi Gras 2009 on February 24th. City and krewe leaders celebrated 153 years of Mardi Gras in dance, music and, of course, king cake. King Day would not be what it is without king cake. Here's more about the king cake tradition. The krewes of Rex and Zulu also unveiled this year's posters. The all-black Krewe of Zulu is celebrating 100 years, and the Krewe of Rex commemorates the 50th anniversary of the doubloon. These two are among the most celebrated krewes. A recent entry into the lineup of krewes is that of the St. Joan of Arc Krewe, a krewe that will take to the streets today. Here is a complete schedule of the parades leading up to Mardi Gras. I think outsiders would be amazed at the amount of effort that goes into making Mardi Gras what it is. Mardi Gras is so big, it can be pretty much what you want it to be. If you are into the pomp and circumstance, and the tradition of royalty with Kings and Queens, it can be just that. If you are into the bawdy and gaudy, the adult-rated on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, it can be that too. Many of the outside communities have their own Mardi Gras parades and activities. Houma is a good example of this. We have several parades that families look forward to each year at Mardi Gras time. Obviously, they will not be as elaborate as those in New Orleans, but they are crowd pleasers none the less. As a family, we have been fortunate to have lived in parts of the country that celebrate their own culture on a state-wide level, including Pioneer Day in Utah (July 24), Kamehameha Day in Hawaii (June 11), and Mardi Gras in Louisiana and surrounding areas (47 days before Easter Sunday). None is more grandiose and original than Mardi Gras.