Reasons New Orleans' Mardi Gras Has Been Canceled-- Part 3: Celebrate at Home

In 1979, New Orleans' police department went on strike and 16 krewes elected not to partake at all in the Carnival, while more than a dozen others moved to neighboring cities.  

Many people braced for  the Mardi Gras celebrations to be called off in 2006 following the brutal damage and deaths of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Yet, the people of New Orleans proceeded with them to show their  strength and resiliency.

The current pandemic, however, proved to be too much of a risk for fear of the event becoming what is now called a super-spreader.  Last year's Mardi Gras on February 25 has been linked to some 50,000 cases of it.

The city has closed the bars in Bourbon Street and blocked off the area for the most part.  People are, instead, decorating the exteriors of their homes and having small get-togethers all over the city.

Let's hope for next year.

Seems To Be the Right Thing to Do.  --RoadDog

Reasons New Orleans' Mardi Gras Canceled Throughout History-- Part 2

This past Tuesday's Mardi Gras in New Orleans was canceled and the culprit being the you-know-what, although had they had it, it would have been a mighty cool one with top temperature at 32 degrees.

Since New Orleans is a port city it has been very susceptible to various disease outbreaks over the years as well.  After a yellow fever epidemic outbreak in  1878 killed  more than 4,000 people in the city, two of the three krewes did not participate in 1879, though one krewe did.

Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras events returned the following year and ran annually until 1918, when the Spanish Flu.  The United States had also entered World War I.  In the aftermath of the war and with the flu outbreak the festivities were called off again in 1919.

Wars were also the  deciding factors for the next cancelations.  From 1941 through 1945, World War II halted the events.  The Korean War in 1951 caused the growing number of krewes to scale back or not participate at all.

--RoadGras

From Wars to the Spanish Flu: Why New Orleans Mardi Gras Has Been Canceled in the Past-- Part 1

From Newsweek by Jon Jackson.

For the first time in decades, New Orleans had no grand celebration to mark Mardi Gras.  The parade was canceled by New Orleans officials because of the ongoing pandemic.  Bars and restaurants are shuttered and  barricades are set up on Bourbon Street  to discourage mass partying.

Since its inception in  1857 by the Mistick Krewe of Comus, New Orleans Mardi Gras has been canceled or massively scaled back 14 times.  (Krewes are  social groups that organize the parades in case you're wondering.)

The first disruption came during the Civil War  Parades and celebrations were halted from 1862, just before Northern forces captured the Confederate city, until they resumed in 1866.   They continued until 1875 when they were again canceled due to civil unrest following the Battle of Liberty Place.

This battle occurred when the Crescent City White League, a militia made up mostly of Confederate veterans,  tried to take control of the Louisiana state government  by force in September 1874.

--RoadDog

That New Orleans/Louisiana Kinda Music: Ground Zero For Fun!!!

Well, along with Mardi Gras food (anything from New Orleans and Louisiana), a big part of a correct and functional Mardi Gras would have to be the music.  And what a gumbo of music you get from that area.  You have your Cajun and Zydeco as well as Second Line, Blues, R&B, Jazz, Dixieland and lotsa others.

I listened a lot to the CD I wrote about earlier and now would have to regard that as the first album you get if you're getting into this kind of music.

My first introduction to music from this part of the country was back in 1986 with the movie "The Big Easy."  The movie was so-so, but the music!!!!  Wow, it just blew me away.  How could that kind of music have been there for so long and I bot know about it?  Well, I had to go right out and buy that album and listen to it over and over and over again.

And then, I had to go out and start buying as many songs and artists of it as I could.

It Was Ground Zero for My Immersion in This Great Music.  --RoadDog

Gettin' Our Mardi Gras ON-- Part 6: The Day Arrives

TUESDAY, MARCH 5

The day before Lent arrives.  Time to fatten up and party.  And, we did.

First, we drove to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin,  after gathering up our Mardi Gras tree and beads we caught down in Panama City Beach and Panama City.  Then to Bodi's on Twin Lakes' Main Street.  It's an old time kind of bakery.

We picked up our King Cake which was huge and decorated with beads, masks and two babies.  One on top and one baked inside.  It is good luck if you find the inside baby if you don't accidentally eat it and choke.  They also had probably thirty different kinds of Polish paczkis and we picked up four different ones.

Then, on to Donovan's Reef where they were having their own Mardi Gras party.  Bartender Heather had also gone to a bakery and stocked up on paczkis, plus they had Hurricane and Grenade drinks for $3.25.

Everyone got a piece of King Cake and pieces of paczkis.

When we left there, we also went to Sunnyside Tap in Johnsburg to finish off our Mardi Gras Day.

Good Times Here Anyway.  --Roadpaczki

Your Ultimate Mardi Gras CD

Nothing like listening to some good old New Orleans-style Mardi Gras music to get you in the mood.  and this one is a good one.

There are 15 songs on the CD.

1.  THE SECOND LINE--  Stop, Inc.

2.  BIG CHIEF  (COMPLETE VERSION)--  Professor Longhair and Earl King

3.  THEY ALL ASKED FOR YOU--  Rockin' Dopsie, Jr.

4.  COLD, COLD MARDI GRAS--    DJ Dynamite Red

5.  HEY, HEY MARDI GRAS--  Big Al & the Heavy Weights

6.  DO WHATCHA WANNA--  Rebirth Brass Band

7.  ALL IN A MARDI GRAS DAY--  Big Al Carson

8.  MARDI GRAS IN NEW ORLEANS--  Olympia Brass Band

9.  CAJUN ROUX--  Big Al & the Heavy Weights

10.  BALLIN' ON ZYDECO--  Lil' Nathan

11.  DOWN AT THE MARDI GRAS--  Rockin' Dopsie, Jr.

12.  MARDI GRAS MAMBO--  Fredy Omar  Con Su Banda

13.  SMOKE MY PEACE PIPE--  Buig Chief

14.  NEW ORLEANS MUSIC--  Rebirth Brass Band

15.  BECAUSE I GOT HIGH--  Big Al Carson

Believe me, this one'll get your toes a'tappin' and body movin'.

You can listen to it in its entirety on You Tube.  Just type in Ultimate Mardi Gras.

Doesn't Get Much Better Than This.  --RoadDog

Getting Our Mardi Gras On-- Part 5: Cinco de Marcho Day

TUESDAY, MARCH 5   Mardi Gras

In my Down Da Road I Go blog I have a weekly post (s) on I'd Celebrate It!!!  This is a list of the daily things you can celebrate like National Oreo Day and so forth.

March 5 is also Cinco de Marcho Day.  This is a day to start getting you ready to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, just 12 days away at this point.  I like that idea.  The best way to prepare for St. Patrick's Day is to start eating lots of corned beef & cabbage as well as drinking beer (both green and amber, well dark Guiness) and, of course, Irish whisky.

This day is especially intended for you that don't often drink.

Oh yes, I now will pull out my Irish CDs, cassettes and LPs.  It's a music thing as well, don't you know.

And this year, we don't get a month off to recover from Mardi Gras, just these 12 all-too-short days (well, 11 days now)..

The Count Down to Paddy's Day Begins.  --RoadDog

Getting Our Mardi Gras On-- Part 4: Lundi Gras New Orleans Food and Music

MONDAY, MARCH 4  Lundi Gras

Of course, had heated up Muffuletto and jambalaya today and listened to New  Orleans music both by the computer on CD player and in the car.  In the car we've been playing a really great CD compilation called "Ultimate Mardi Gras."  If you are only going to have one CD of Mardi Gras music, this would be the one.  I'm listening to it right now on You Tube  and they play it straight through.

Met Kevin and Kelly, who were off school today because of Casimir Pulaski Day here in Illinois, at J's, played NTN, enjoyed $1.50 pints and half-price BLT pizza.

--RoadDog

Getting Our Mardi Gras On-- Part 3: Muffulettos and Jambalaya

We may not have been down PCB, but we sure ate our Mardi Gras' worth of food up here in the freezing north.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3

It was almost all Monkees on Bob Stroud's Rock and Roll Roots show on WDRV, 97.1 FM, Chicago's Drive, as he Root Saluted them after the death of Peter Tork last week and Mickey Dolenz's upcoming 74th birthday this Friday.  What is Mardi Gras if it is not about music and any kind of music.

We went to Corkscrew Pointe in McHenry, Illinois, for a muffuletto (spelled many different ways) sandwich, one of the few places around that makes them.  This was originated by Italians in New Orlenas and consists of and olive sauce,  salami, ham, Swiss cheese, provolone, and mortadela on a toasted bun.  Absolutely delicious and a huge sandwich.  Liz and I could just finish half which means today we get to eat it all over again.

We then went to Stucky's in Johnsburg and had a great time with the people there and played a lot of  music on the juke box.  They had jambalaya with shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage.  Even though we were full, we ordered one for $8.75 and snacked on it, but had plenty left over to eat another meal today.

Hey, you don't get jambalaya just everyday.  You eat it when you get the chance.

I was disappointed that Tom Marker did not feature New Orleans music on his Bluesbreakers show on Sunday.  When he was on the air on Mondays, he used to have a great Lundi Gras (Fat Monday) show.

Listening to a CD by Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys right now while I'm typing this.  Doesn't get much more Cajun than that.

Eating Our Way Through Mardi Gras.  RoadDog

Getting Our Mardi Gras On As Best We Can In his Land of the Cold

Even though we aren't in Panama City Beach, Florida, for their Mardi Gras fun (and Panama City had their St. Andrews Mardi Gras parade last Saturday) we are doing the best we can here in northern Illinois to recreate some of it.

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to the Legion and partied with Joe Kadlec on the guitar and watched the Hawks lose as well as the Cubs.  But, baseball has something to do with spring and the end of the winter, doesn't it?

And Friday, I found out that Jewel does sell king cake, but in bundt cake fashion, so bought one.  We also placed an order with Bodi's Bakery in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, for a more traditional king cake which we will bring over to Donovan's for their Mardi Gras party, complete with Hurricanes and Hand Grenade drink specials.

Today, we are going over to Corkscrew Pointe in McHenry for a muffeletta sandwich, a New Orleans tradition, and maybe one of their ultra bloody marys.

Doing the Best We Can Up In the Cold.  --RoadDog

Getting Our Mardi Gras On As Best We Can

Liz and really wanted to be down in Panama City Beach (PCB), Florida, this weekend because of their annual Mardi Gras parade and celebration.  Sadly, due to the hurricane this past fall, the Driftwood Lodge has been sold out for months, so no go for us.

The parade actually passes by the front of the motel (and it is one of those old mom and pop motels you so rarely see anymore on PCB where the sky seems to be the limit in height).  To me, that just isn't beach.

Anyway, I looked up PCB's schedule for today and tomorrow and I'll tell you WHAT we WOULD have been doing:

Friday:

7 pm--  Second Line Parade Crawl  Pier Park

7:30 to 8:30 pm--  Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band at Celebration Stage

8:30 pm--  fireworks

SATURDAY

Noon to 1:15 pm:  Chicks With Hits:  Terri Clark, Pam Tillis, Suzy Boggus  at Aaron Bessant Park

1:30 to 2:45 pm--  Lonestar  at Aaron Bessant Park

4:15 to 5:45 pm--  Krewe of Dominique Youx Mardi Gras Parade

5:45 pm--  Waylon Thibodeaux  Celebration Stage

7:00 pm--  Fireworks

And, weather there Saturday is supposed to be 70 degrees, but thunderstorms.  Weather here in Spring Grove today has a high of  31 degrees.  Right now, at 6:46 am it is 26 degrees with snow falling.

I don't know if I should be hoping they get thunderstorms or not.

Man, We're Missing a Whole Lot of Fun.  --RoadDog

Warm Here We Come-- Part 18: A Mardi Gras Parade in Panama City

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Unfortunately, whenever the clouds rolled in, it got considerably cooler.

Drove to Panama City for the St. Andrews annual Mardi Gras parade.  St. Andrews was the original settlement here.  We got there just before the parade started at noon and parked near where we were last year which is near the start of the parade.  This makes it easier to leave for us as we are headed out while others are still watching it.  Avoids the traffic jam.

They had around 30 floats and lots and lots of beads, of course.  We ended up with quite a bead collection, even though we were standing back from the curb and weren't really trying to catch them.  Those at the curb and begging for beads were making quite a haul and some had twenty or more layers of beads.

We always love the pageantry and fun.  The people on the floats are dressed alike in colorful garb and there are quite a few people walking in the parade.

Besides the Warm, we are here for the two Mardi Gras celebrations today and next Saturday in Panama City Beach when the parade goes right by our motel, Driftwood Lodge.

Oh, Give Me Some Beads Where The Buffalo  Roam.  --RoadDog

Since the writing about this trip is taking so long, to see all of the posts, click on the PCB 2018 label below this.

Warm Here We Come--Part 17: How 'Bout Them Indians?

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Alas, we're in Florida and it was considerably cool this morning.  Could have stayed home and had this.  But still 30 degrees warmer.  

While getting ready to go out to eat, a lady walked by and saw my White Sox shirt and hat and she said she was a Cleveland Indians fan and madder than all get out about them dropping the Indian logo after this season.  She said she was buying as much stuff as she could with Chief Wahoo on it.

I told her that I would have pulled for the Indians in the 2016 World Series, but not with the Chicago Cubs playing in it.  Anybody else in the National League and I would have been for Cleveland.  After all, I AM an American league fan and besides, the Indians are in our division.

Went over to Burger King for their two breakfast sandwiches for $4 deal.  Real good.  Bought some stuff from Dollar Tree and got a King Cake from Winn-Dixie.  It is not Mardi Gras without King Cake!!

Cool though it was this morning, it warmed up enough by noon that I could enjoy shorts and tee shirt.  Makes me much happier.

A Happy Dog is Better.  --RoadDog

Warm Here We Come-- Part 15: No Shuckums, But Pompano Joe's

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2

No Shuckums, so over to Pier Park we go and a stop at another favorite place, Pompano's Joe's.  It used to be Reggae J's.  They have a real nice happy hour 2-5 with $2 draft pints and several really good food specials.  Plus, it is right across the street from the Gulf of Mexico and has great views.

There is always a good crowd at the bar and several heard us talk about not finding Patches earlier today.  They said they go there all the time, but it is hard to find.  They gave us instructions as to how to get to the place.  Sounds like we drove by it at least twice.  We'll make another attempt to find it tomorrow coming back from the Mardi Gras parade at St. Andrew's.

We got a huge tuna dip plate for $6 which filled both of us up.

--RoadDog

PCB 2017: Got Beads? Sure Did

I got my fill of Cajun, zydeco and Louisiana music Saturday at Jo-El Sonnier's show and enjoyed a muffeletta sandwich as we'll.  Mighty good eating and music.

Then Aaron Tippin got on stage, now with a white beard to go with his big mustache.  That guy has a whole lot of energy and was all over the stage singing his hits.  And, he put together a kid's bike while singing one of his songs.  He did this back when I saw his show at the Kenosha County (Wis.) Fair and said he has now put together over a thousand at his shows.  He then turns it over to Toys for Tots.

Next, we had the Mardi Gras parade that went by the motel we are staying at and we made quite the haul in beads.  Last, we had another fireworks show over the City Pier.

Bead Me.  RoadDog

PCB 2017: Mardi Gras Today

February 25th, Saturday.

Well, actually, it kicked off yesterday with a kid's parade, concert and fireworks down at Pier Park.  We had a very nice view of the fireworks display from our motel.

In just a little bit, I will be walking over to Pier Park for concerts by Cajun singer Jo-El Sonnier and one of my favorite country singers, Aaron Tippin and then back to the motel for the parade which passes right by us and then another fireworks show on the City Pier.

Getting My Mardi Gras On.  --RoadDog

PCB 2017: We've Had Our Rain, But Hopefully Gone Now: Time to Mardi Gras

Thursday February 23rd.

Sitting out at a picnic table right nor.  Temps in the 70s but overcast and windy.  Listening to some Cajun music as the hotels are having a Mardi Gras party this afternoon with food and a dj/karaoke guy.

It started raining Tuesday afternoon and pretty much went through until about noon yesterday/  Ot's all gone and right now we have sun, a light breeze and probably a 77 degree temperature.  I can live with that.

But, one big reason for coming to Florida in the winter is to get away from the cold and snow of Chocago.  But, i hear the temps in Chicago have been on the 60s since this past weekend.  Kind of defeats the purpose, you know.

Well, its been in the 70s here.

Sittin' here looking at the Gulf of Mexico about 200 feet away.

Getting My Beach On.  --RoadDog

PCB 2017: Got Beads? We Made It to St. Andrews Mardi Gras

Yesterday, we were expecting to be unable to see the Mardi Gras parade in St. Andrews (a part of Panama City now), but the extremely heavy traffic made it at one point to be unlikely, but we actually found a parking spot by a church near the beginning of the parade and got to see it after all.

Even though we weren't actively trying to get beads, we still managed to accumulate more than a few strands, some of which hit me in the face or head.  You have to be on constant lookout as the various Krewe floats come by.

Afterwards, we went to a  real dive bar, Joe's Corner, near the bridge for their world famous wings and then to Christo's on the east end of Panama City and lastly to Donovan's Reef across from the motel.

Bead My Face.  --RoadDog

PCB 2017: Mardi Gras Parade Today in St. Andrews, Florida

Shortly, we will be heading over to Panama City, Florida, for their 20th annual Mardi Gras parade and celebration.

Beads Anybody?  RoadDog

Didn't Get Enough Mardi Gras Food? Try a Po'Boy

From the Feb. 17, 2016, Chicago Tribune ""Big & Little's fried crab po'boy" by Marissa Conrad.

"Po'boys are one of the four major food groups of Mardi Gras (see also: muffalettas, hurricanes and beignets), but there's no reason to stop eating them once the holiday is over."

In case you're wondering, "A po'boy is a baguette stuffed with either meat (often roast beef) or fried seafood, with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and mayo (for meat) or melted butter (for seafood)."

The reporter went to Big & Little's in Lakeview, Chicago, which she likened to a surfside seafood and burger shack. Its fried fish sandwiches are so popular it now has three locations.

She recommends their softshell crab po'boy for $8.  It comes open so that you can see a full fried crab with claws upright.

A picture of it accompanied the article and I got hungry just looking at it.

Locations of Big & Little's:  1034 Belmont Ave., 860 N. Orleans St, and 1310 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Perhaps It Will Be Necessary for Me to Visit and Eat.  --RoadDog