Phunny Phorty Phellows & Twelfth Night
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(Okay, so Twelfth Night was a couple of weeks ago. I’m catching up now.)
The Phunny Phorty Phellows kick off Carnival season in style- with a streetcar ride, tossing beads as they go. I hadn’t gotten out to see them on their ride before, and was surprised that they don’t set a slow, maximizing sort of pace, but the typical “now you see us, now you don’t” streetcar speed.
There weren’t huge crowds for this one, but they always had people around because drivers on St. Charles Ave would see them, do a quick whip around, get ahead of the streetcar, park, and run over.
I have to say, they looked like they were having a hell of a good time:
Men in Dresses Parade
By · CommentsI just don’t know about Mardi Gras this year; it seems so…well, so small next to the Superbowl.
Think about it: we have Carnival every year, but this is our first Superbowl in 43 years. To call things ‘a bit crazy here right now’ might be the understatement of the century. Add to that next week’s election where no matter who wins their last name will NOT be Nagin? Forget it. Might as well leave an Out-of-Office message for the entire city, telling people we’ll be back…oh, say around French Quarter Fest.
Today’s insanity was the Buddy D parade. Buddy was a legendary sportscaster in the city, as long suffering a fan as ever there was, and he once said that if the Saints made it to the Superbowl he’d dance in the streets in a dress. Buddy died in 2005, but his memory lives on and so today, one week before the big game we held a parade. Several thousand people showed up in the cold, almost all of the men in drag, everybody thrilled.
More photo & video at the T-P here, including a great shot of the crowd- it really was massive.
Schools are closing the Monday after the game, on the assumption that the parents aren’t going to be mobile, one way or the other. A judge has postponed a trial because he can’t seat a jury due to Saintsmania (his word- apparently now an official legal term?). Of course, win or lose, we’ll have a post-game parade, too, not to mention who-knows-how-many impromptu parades over the week.
Okay, so we’re a little…um…overly enthusiastic. But tell the truth… don’t you wish you were here?
Roosevelt Christmas traditions
By · CommentsThe Roosevelt Hotel in the CBD was one of too many oldline establishments that had lost its luster, closing entirely in 2005. But after the Waldorf-Astoria gave it a $145 million makeover she reopened to great fanfare a few months ago, bringing back many of the old traditions like extravagant holiday decorations:
The hotel is still best known for its connection to Huey “Kingfish” Long who kept rooms on the 12th floor for the many nights he was in town, coming so often that he had Airline Highway built so he could make the 80 mile trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans in an hour. For ten years he traveled back and forth, making sure there was a Ramos Gin Fizz waiting at the end for him as he met with the power brokers in town.
Seymour Weiss, the Kingfish’s friend and confidante, started out working in the barber shop, where he could pick up information from the city’s rich and powerful and pass it along; but with Long’s protection the lowly barber rose through the ranks, becoming the principle owner of the hotel in only 8 years. Despite his humble beginnings and dubious contacts Weiss was a great success as owner, even if he did have to serve 16 months in the Federal pen for tax evasion linked to his dealings with Long.
Their Sazerac bar is gorgeous and famous in its own right- not to mentioned packed with locals and tourists alike:
The whole place was packed, actually, not just the bar, with people soaking up the atmosphere, and the employees were as kind and gracious as can be. I’m looking forward to heading back after the craziness of the holidays has passed and having another go at the place.
An Oak Alley Christmas
By · CommentsIt’s been several years since we’ve gone, so this was the year. Everybody was staying home instead of travelling for the holidays, and we’ve decided to go in for a bunch of local traditions, like bonfires on the levee.
To stay true to the tradition, we would have had to do it on Christmas Eve, but Oak Alley Plantation’s fundraiser and whoop-de-doo is a few weeks before, full of music, amazing food, and the opportunity to walk the grounds without tons of tour groups all over the place.
It was damn cold that night, but we were glad to be able to have it at all after heavy rains the day before. Unfortunately, the pyre got dampened and took awhile to really get going, but it was lovely. Carols and music around the fire with Hot Cocoa to look forward to afterward. What could be more festive?
Cajun Night Before Christmas
By · CommentsLast night we went to NOMA and decided to make a stop over to see the lights at Celebration in the Oaks.
Every year I watch this little light show several times in a row, I’m powerless not to:
Favorite verse? Where he calls out the gator’s names:
Mo’ fas’er an’ fas’er de’ gator dey came
He whistle an’ holler an’ call dem by name:
“Ha, Gaston! Ha, Tiboy! Ha, Pierre an’ Alcee’!
Gee, Ninette! Gee, Suzette! Celeste an’Renee’!
Kids tap dancing in the French Quarter in 1976
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Another eBay slide, which I love. Taken in 1976, it’s something that still happens today; kids (particularly poor black kids) attach metallic caps to the bottoms of their shoes and tap dance on the cobblestones.
Here the local kids seem to be teaching the tourists to dance along with them in front of St. Louis Cathedral.
All Saints Day Second Line
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After a day of visiting various cemeteries to see what everyone was doing on this post Halloween holiday, I went to the Backstreet Museum’s 10th anniversary Second Line. More photos to follow, but this one was coming into the home stretch, turning off Rampart and back toward the Museum.
Even Pratchett’s got “Who Dat” fever
By · CommentsSorry, couldn’t resist.
Pratchett stole a Saints clapper and went to town on it pre-game on Sunday. I can’t say he gives a damn about football, but he’s a big fan of anything that makes noise. After the Herculean task of hauling the thing up to his veranda, he got pissy. He thought it worked like a bell and when he couldn’t get it to work he decided to break it instead.
Still. How ’bout dem 6-0 Saints!?
They’re well known for breaking our hearts, but the feeling around here is optimistic. Half the city’s hoarse from screaming on Sunday, and it’s only going to get more intense.
