Carnival links

Tchotchke vendors setting up in front of Ms. Mae's prior to yesterday's Druids parade.

• Officials urge Mardi Gras revelers to celebrate with common sense

  To ensure a safe celebration, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said, the city has been working to ensure existing laws are followed more stringently than previous years.
  
  “Safety, really, at the end of the day is our priority. We don’t want to spoil Mardi Gras with senseless actions,” Landrieu said. “Common courtesy, safety and common sense should drive what everybody does.”

  
  
  ...
  
  

  Over the years, Endymion typically has attracted revelers who stake out spots and set up sofas, tents and ladders along the Mid-City parade route days before the parade rolls.
  
  “You now know that if you go out to Orleans Avenue and rope off an acre and you bring your living room, somebody’s gonna move it,” Landrieu said.

  
  
  We'll keep an eye out to see how well this is enforced along the route, but communicating the issue in precisely the language the Mayor used yesterday is a big help in and of itself.



• Grassroots Mardi Gras marching groups opt for spunk and sparkle over pomp and prestige Really cool stuff in this article illustrating how rich and organic popular Carnival celebrations are and can be. If you don't live here, it's easy to miss the degree to which Mardi Gras defies the concept of a rigid program.



• This club themes itself upon red beans. The article appears in what remains of the T-P's Food section so it contains a recipe for red beans which seems nice but I have to give it the thumbs down on the grounds that it contains no pickle meat.
  
  I usually make a big pot of red beans on Mardi Gras day to feed all the visitors. Mine typically contain seasoning ham, pickle meat, and smoked sausage. I might add a hamhock or two this year. Today's Blackened Out post concerns itself with some common sense parade party etiquette and also suggests red beans as parade day fuel.



• We caught Druids last night which was all in all not a bad showing for what's usually a fairly rinky dink parade. I haven't uploaded the pictures yet. Will get to it later. Meanwhile, this afternoon, Mattie's Little Angels daycare held a brief parade down Magazine Street. The "floats" were lightly decorated wagons and strollers pulled by parents and teachers. The Sophie Wright Charter School marching band led the parade in full uniform.
  
  
  
  

Lots of activity going on outside right now as people start getting ready for tonight's action. Hopefully the rain will hold off.