Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
We've got to go back to 2014 for this one. My first Louisiana Mardi Gras Parade. It was in Carencro. I introduced it here, promising to write more about it later. Well, more than two years later, I'm keeping my promise.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
The Carencro parade was enlightening. South Louisianans know how to go to parades. The Carencro parade is more of a family parade than some of the others, and it was a good starter parade for me.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
It was at the Carencro parade that I learned just how one properly enjoys a parade.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
In the perfect scenario, you arrive early and you set up camp (literally, except for the overnighting part).
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
You set up:
Tent
Open bar with plenty of alcohol
Full-size grill
At least one table for the forthcoming feast
Multiple chairs
Sound system + music for before the parade
Porta-potty
Efficient receptacles for beads and candy collection
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
I was a little taken aback at the competitiveness of catching the beads. Not that I didn't get into the spirit of it pretty quickly myself.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
And then it's over.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana. February 2014.
In Southern Louisiana, it's about Boudreaux and Marie, a Cajun couple, and about Boudreaux and friend Thibodeaux jokes. (Thibodeaux' wife is Charmaine.)
I fell into this jokester universe when I went to the Spring 2014 season's first Mercredi concert in Carencro, where I met two gents who, I suspect, have many colorful stories to tell about their youth. (One is a story I'm trying to track down about the mammoth crawfish of 1953.)
The Boudreaux boys
Two men were sitting at the end of the bar, drinking.
One of the men says to the other, "What's your name?"
The other man says, "Boudreaux."
The first man exclaims, "Mine too!"
He asks the second man, "Where'd you grow up?"
The second man says, "Carencro."
The first man exclaims, "Me too!"
He asks the second man, "What street you grew up in?"
The second man says, "Church Street."
The first man cries, "Me too!"
A third man sitting at the other end of the bar takes all this in and asks the bartender, "Who are those guys"?
The bartender says, "They're twins. They always forget after they've been drinking."
What was that beneath the tree? Those red things. Scattered all over the green grass. Was it possible they were flowers - in February, already fallen from their tree? It was possible. More than that, there were tight buds, fully mature and ripe flowers, and the faded, silky brown elders.
In the spring and fall, the town of Carencro produces Mercredi in Pelican Park, a free music concert. Generally, the genres alternate among cajun, zydeco, swamp pop, and um, I guess kind of a golden-oldies cover-party type.
The scene below is from the October 8, 2014, performance, graced by a pretty sunset and the astral glow of baseball field lights. Later, the full moon shined its blessing upon the mortal doings.
The Carencro Mardi Gras Parade was my first for the 2014 season. It was the weekend before the weekend that preceded actual Mardi Gras day.
Carencro Mardi Gras Parade, Carencro, Louisiana
It was at the Carencro Mardi Gras Parade that I learned that southern Louisianans know how to enjoy a parade.
More to come. In the meantime, look at the photo. Chairs, of course. A tent. A long table. Said table covered with soon-to-be displayed foodstuffs for the inner circle who staked out this spot. You can be pretty sure there's some form of alcohol in the vicinity, as well.
