Monday, January 17, 2005
Rehersal
Friday night we had rehersal for one of my organizations. Luke had to work so I went alone. The mood was so upbeat and festive.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Mobile Mardi Gras Museum Sneak Peek
Darwin Singleton from WPMI NBC 15 has done several stories over the past couple of day about the new Mobile Mardi Gras Museum. It has been a long time coming and the museum is expected to open later this year. However, during Mardi Gras there will be three days where people can get a sneak peek.
One thing that has not yet been reported is the fact the Wayne Dean, my father, who potrays Chief Slac in the Joe Cain parade will be donating his costume to the museum. This will be Wayne's 20th year leading the Joe Cain procession.
Watch the Video
1/11 - Mardi Gras Museum: MAMGA Memories
Watch the Video
1/11 -- Mardi Gras Museum: Glorious Garments
Watch the Video
1/10 -- Mardi Gras Museum: Floats & Fun
Read the Story
Mobile Carnival Museum
Last Update: 1/10/2005 6:27:41 PM
Posted By: Sabrina Geiger
One thing that has not yet been reported is the fact the Wayne Dean, my father, who potrays Chief Slac in the Joe Cain parade will be donating his costume to the museum. This will be Wayne's 20th year leading the Joe Cain procession.
Watch the Video
1/11 - Mardi Gras Museum: MAMGA Memories
Watch the Video
1/11 -- Mardi Gras Museum: Glorious Garments
Watch the Video
1/10 -- Mardi Gras Museum: Floats & Fun
Read the Story
Mobile Carnival Museum
Last Update: 1/10/2005 6:27:41 PM
Posted By: Sabrina Geiger
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Mardi Gras News
Burch & Hatfield Formal Shops Inc., one of the oldest and largest formalwear businesses in Mobile is closing down for good.
Story from the Mobile Register.
Read the Story
Tails' end
Sunday, January 09, 2005
GEORGE TALBOT
Business Reporter
Mardi Gras is really early this year. Want to know why.
Read the Story
'It's time to throw'
Carnival's early arrival has some scrambling
Saturday, January 08, 2005
By ROY HOFFMAN
Staff Reporter
The Mobile Register's write up of the first Dauphins Island parade.
Read the Story
Mardi Gras to kick off with a visit from Elvis
Friday, January 07, 2005
By RUSS HENDERSON
Staff Reporter
Story from the Mobile Register.
Read the Story
Tails' end
Sunday, January 09, 2005
GEORGE TALBOT
Business Reporter
Mardi Gras is really early this year. Want to know why.
Read the Story
'It's time to throw'
Carnival's early arrival has some scrambling
Saturday, January 08, 2005
By ROY HOFFMAN
Staff Reporter
The Mobile Register's write up of the first Dauphins Island parade.
Read the Story
Mardi Gras to kick off with a visit from Elvis
Friday, January 07, 2005
By RUSS HENDERSON
Staff Reporter
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wanna Bee Brunch and Striper's Royalty
We had our annual Wanna Bee Club luncheon today but we did change a few of our normal rituals in our ongoing efforts to separate ourselves from the other organization that most of us are involved in. We all met at TP Crockmiers for lunch. They had a case of Balatorie which we finished within a few hours. It was a terrific turnout. All of our members were there with the exception of Ruth who was out of town and Charlotte and Toy who were on a bus trip. Dorothy was there because we are considering her for membership and so far I think that she fits in great with the rest of us.
Around 1:45 I had to leave to attend the Mystic Stripers Societie's annual Queen's party. I am a past queen and alway try to attend any events that I am invited to. It was really nice. There were around 17 past queens there. We received a really nice Mardi Gras pin in a small gold chest with a queen's coin. They called us each to the front and gave us a red rose and took a ton of pictures.
After leaving there I met back up with the Wanna Bees who were just finishing up purchasing our bead for the year. This has been a tradition for a while. After the brunch everyone goes shopping for a nice bead for the year. We then went over to our other hangout where they had another case of Balatorie waiting for us. We stayed there for several hours and some of the guys joined us. After that the few of us that were left went to the Executive for a few more drinks. I made it home and to bed around 10:30.
Around 1:45 I had to leave to attend the Mystic Stripers Societie's annual Queen's party. I am a past queen and alway try to attend any events that I am invited to. It was really nice. There were around 17 past queens there. We received a really nice Mardi Gras pin in a small gold chest with a queen's coin. They called us each to the front and gave us a red rose and took a ton of pictures.
After leaving there I met back up with the Wanna Bees who were just finishing up purchasing our bead for the year. This has been a tradition for a while. After the brunch everyone goes shopping for a nice bead for the year. We then went over to our other hangout where they had another case of Balatorie waiting for us. We stayed there for several hours and some of the guys joined us. After that the few of us that were left went to the Executive for a few more drinks. I made it home and to bed around 10:30.
Mardi Gras Begins
The Krewe de la Dauphine parade kicked off the Mardi Gras season on Saturday in Dauphin Island. The morning was dreary and raining lightly. We setup camp in the median and tailgated for several hours waiting on the parade. By parade time the rain had stopped and the KDLD rolled on time presenting their chosen them for the year. The theme was a Tribute to Elvis with floats reflecting many of Elvis' famous hit songs like 'Jailhouse Rock' and 'Viva Las Vegas'.
Saturday night I went to my first ball of the season, the Etruscans. The Etruscans is a non-parading couples group. They celebrated their 55th annual ball with their theme 'Remember When'. A lot of the non-parading groups, especially the older ones entertain the guests with skits performed during their tableaux. The tableaux began with the introduction of the organization's honorary, associate and non-active members. Honorary members are ones that have been a member of the organizations for a specified number of years and no longer participate in costume. Associates are members that are waiting to move up and participate in costume. Most organizations have honorary, active and associate members. Some have other member statuses and in the Etruscans they have inactive members. I was told by a member that this status are members who no longer want to be costumed and don't participate in the organization anymore. This is similar to honorary but honorary members still participate in meetings and functions they just don't wear a costume the night of the ball.
The Etruscans looked back to ball gone by with the introduction of a visiting queen and jester. This was a annual practice in the society in the early days. Several blackcoat carrying letters spelling out the name of the organization came out onto the dance floor to present the name as was the practice in the early days. However, when the letters were turned over the name was spelled out backwards. Everyone started laughing and most people thought it was done on purpose but after speaking with the King I learned that is was not. The skits included the presentation of various famous leaders in history both fictional and non-fictional. Once all of these couples were on the floor the men did a dance to 'Men in Tights' song. It was really funny. Another group called out one by one and did a promote showcasing the seasons. The ladies had fabulous headpieces on. They included the snow queen, Ms Mardi Gras and Santa's helper. Another group portrayed black cats, witches and even the devil himself. The stage curtains opened up and exposed a old time military theme. The Queen was sitting at a small table with no King. The King flew in, well rolled in, in a old time military plane to join his waiting Queen. The Queen was dressed all in white with a beautiful collar. Her train was all in white but really plain. It had a lot of dates embroidered on it I guess maybe kids birthdays and such but all the embroidery was not centered. I stayed at the ball until almost the end and enjoyed seeing all of my friends some of whom I had not seen since last Mardi Gras. Before leaving I walked back into the main arena and sat down to watch the people dancing in front of the beautiful stage backdrop. I was very happy sitting their because Mardi Gras is finally here.
Saturday night I went to my first ball of the season, the Etruscans. The Etruscans is a non-parading couples group. They celebrated their 55th annual ball with their theme 'Remember When'. A lot of the non-parading groups, especially the older ones entertain the guests with skits performed during their tableaux. The tableaux began with the introduction of the organization's honorary, associate and non-active members. Honorary members are ones that have been a member of the organizations for a specified number of years and no longer participate in costume. Associates are members that are waiting to move up and participate in costume. Most organizations have honorary, active and associate members. Some have other member statuses and in the Etruscans they have inactive members. I was told by a member that this status are members who no longer want to be costumed and don't participate in the organization anymore. This is similar to honorary but honorary members still participate in meetings and functions they just don't wear a costume the night of the ball.
The Etruscans looked back to ball gone by with the introduction of a visiting queen and jester. This was a annual practice in the society in the early days. Several blackcoat carrying letters spelling out the name of the organization came out onto the dance floor to present the name as was the practice in the early days. However, when the letters were turned over the name was spelled out backwards. Everyone started laughing and most people thought it was done on purpose but after speaking with the King I learned that is was not. The skits included the presentation of various famous leaders in history both fictional and non-fictional. Once all of these couples were on the floor the men did a dance to 'Men in Tights' song. It was really funny. Another group called out one by one and did a promote showcasing the seasons. The ladies had fabulous headpieces on. They included the snow queen, Ms Mardi Gras and Santa's helper. Another group portrayed black cats, witches and even the devil himself. The stage curtains opened up and exposed a old time military theme. The Queen was sitting at a small table with no King. The King flew in, well rolled in, in a old time military plane to join his waiting Queen. The Queen was dressed all in white with a beautiful collar. Her train was all in white but really plain. It had a lot of dates embroidered on it I guess maybe kids birthdays and such but all the embroidery was not centered. I stayed at the ball until almost the end and enjoyed seeing all of my friends some of whom I had not seen since last Mardi Gras. Before leaving I walked back into the main arena and sat down to watch the people dancing in front of the beautiful stage backdrop. I was very happy sitting their because Mardi Gras is finally here.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Unemployment and Rehersal
It has been a strange and interesting start to a new year. Things that should make someone insane have made me more relaxed and happy that I have been in years and then other things continue to make me stressed. First of all I got fired from my job that I have had for over eight years. Yes, yes it is insane and I should be so upset and worried and stressed but since my job made me upset and stressed on a daily basis I am actually happier than I have been in years. I have a ton of prospect already and I think that 2005 will be the year for new beginnings and I am so happy and relaxed. Everything, except for one thing seems to be coming together and it is a wonderful feeling. It is very hard to leave somewhere you have been for over eight years. For most people they have established relationships and friendships and it is hard to break those ties. More important to me was the fact that I had three weeks of vacation and I got all of the two weeks of Mardi Gras off every year. Well no big deal. I have worked through Mardi Gras more than not and I can do it again no problem. After everything that has happened I still keep thinking that I am crazy for feeling so great when a normal person would feel so bad but of course I am not and never have been normal. Well enough about that.
Yesterday I went to the annual rehearsal for one of my Mardi Gras organizations. Rehearsal is an event in which we go through the process of what we will do when we present our tableau to our guest at the ball. It is normally a fun and exciting event. (TO SEE THE REST OF THIS STORY AND THE PICTURES CLICK ON THE TITLE LINK.)
Yesterday I went to the annual rehearsal for one of my Mardi Gras organizations. Rehearsal is an event in which we go through the process of what we will do when we present our tableau to our guest at the ball. It is normally a fun and exciting event. (TO SEE THE REST OF THIS STORY AND THE PICTURES CLICK ON THE TITLE LINK.)
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Conde Cavalier Roll
A large crowd grew on the streets of downtown last night to see the first Mobile Mardi Gras parade of the season roll through the streets. The Conde Cavaliers have chose the them Ports of Paradise. Their floats are built by a New Orleans float builder so they have a different style than the majority of the Mobile floats. The Conde floats are very boxy except for a figure on the front. The airbrushed paint on the rest of the float however is very bright. Big Bertha, a 1943 search light, lead the parade, followed by the organization's three permanent floats. The first permanent float was is a large train followed by the organzation's emblem float which was rebuilt this year. The new emblem float has the head of a horse on the front and Fort Conde on the back and the third had the head of Chief Slac on the front. Marshals, marching bands, truck bands, and fillers such as the ABBA Hillbillies and thirteen theme floats completed the parade.
After the parade several of the girls from one of my Mardi Gras organizations had been asked to work the doors at the Conde ball. We gathered to see what doors we were working and took our places. We were suppose to take up tickets and tell the ball guests where to go to be seated, look for dress code violations, and above all ID people to keep underage people from coming in. The ABC board has really been cracking down on the downtown bars and are suppose to have undercover agents at the balls as well as city police to look for underage drinking. The Conde ball is known by most other organizations for letting in a lot of underage people, especially girls. We stopped many people and turned them away but one masker who claimed to be the ticket chairman and a past board memeber forced us to let in several underage girls, two of whom were 17 years old. He swore they would not be drinking but of course that is silly. We finally got fed up and left it to the police to work the doors and went inside to try and enjoy the rest of the ball. I missed the tableaux because we were trapped at the front door. Later in the night I saw the two 17 year old girls at one of the room bars ordering drinks and beer. Imagine that!
Luke made it to the ball after the tableaux and I found him on the dance floor when I went to look for doubloons. There were lots of people I knew there, some of whom I have not seen since last Mardi Gras. The ball was lots of fun. When the ball came to a close Luke and I went over to Dauphin street to Monsoons for a couple of drinks.
There are several parades today but none in Mobile. The Tillman's Tricksters will roll throught Tillman's Corner today at 1pm. Then the Krewe de Spaniards will celebrate in Old Town Daphne at 4. Finally, the Krewe de Carnival will parade in Spanish Fort at 6:45.
Read the Article from the Mobile Register
Visiting Ports of Paradise
9onde Cavaliers set bar high by showering revelers with throws
Saturday, January 22, 200510y LEE DAVIDSON
Staff Reporter
After the parade several of the girls from one of my Mardi Gras organizations had been asked to work the doors at the Conde ball. We gathered to see what doors we were working and took our places. We were suppose to take up tickets and tell the ball guests where to go to be seated, look for dress code violations, and above all ID people to keep underage people from coming in. The ABC board has really been cracking down on the downtown bars and are suppose to have undercover agents at the balls as well as city police to look for underage drinking. The Conde ball is known by most other organizations for letting in a lot of underage people, especially girls. We stopped many people and turned them away but one masker who claimed to be the ticket chairman and a past board memeber forced us to let in several underage girls, two of whom were 17 years old. He swore they would not be drinking but of course that is silly. We finally got fed up and left it to the police to work the doors and went inside to try and enjoy the rest of the ball. I missed the tableaux because we were trapped at the front door. Later in the night I saw the two 17 year old girls at one of the room bars ordering drinks and beer. Imagine that!
Luke made it to the ball after the tableaux and I found him on the dance floor when I went to look for doubloons. There were lots of people I knew there, some of whom I have not seen since last Mardi Gras. The ball was lots of fun. When the ball came to a close Luke and I went over to Dauphin street to Monsoons for a couple of drinks.
There are several parades today but none in Mobile. The Tillman's Tricksters will roll throught Tillman's Corner today at 1pm. Then the Krewe de Spaniards will celebrate in Old Town Daphne at 4. Finally, the Krewe de Carnival will parade in Spanish Fort at 6:45.
Read the Article from the Mobile Register
Visiting Ports of Paradise
9onde Cavaliers set bar high by showering revelers with throws
Saturday, January 22, 200510y LEE DAVIDSON
Staff Reporter
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