Fat Tuesday...already!!

For three weeks Mobile has been all decked out  - Mardi Gras colours are everywhere,  beads and  moon pies are being thrown, there are King Cakes, cook outs, marching bands, truck bands and floats in parades - lots of parades, and formal Mystic Society Balls.....the party will only stop late tonight.  Ash Wednesday is only hours away.

Schools and city workers will head back to work, the streets will be open again, the beads and decorations will be sorted and stored away, and life will return to normal.  We will see the unsold mardi gras merchandise on sale as we negoiate around the clover green of St Pats day and the pastels of Easter, it won't be too long before we see the red, white and blue of 4th of July.

Order of The Polka Dots

Our invitations to a Mardi Gras Ball arrived.....


With the attached "rules"

All dressed and ready to go

No really we left the masks at home

First the parade

The Budweiser Clydesdales were there with their mascot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Clydesdales

Bead catching is an art....Cheryl has it down pat.

Her loot: Beads, Moonpies, cups, a teddy bear, a thong and crab included!

New accessories for the evening

The Ball began with the queen and her escort watching the arrival of all the Polka Dot girls and their escorts. (fresh from riding in the parade) Followed by the emblem, the Gypsy Queen who then danced around the ballroom greeting all the Polka Dots and guests. Finally the queen took her rounds and then the dancing began.

A Jester watching over the dance floor - there were three stages with a different band in each.

Some of the rooms - lots to eat and drink!

some of the other guests...a couple of sneaky photos!

And doing it all again the next night at the Order of the Inca Society parade and Ball

A Royal Extravagance

The gowns, trains and costumes below are just a sampling of a collection all housed in the Mobile Carnival Museum.
The Mobile Carnival Association was first organised in 1872-with their Royal Court reigned over by the king of Carnival, which they styled as Emperor Felix I. (It is impossible to find in print anywhere that this is actually a "whites only" association)
You will also see that there is one room devoted to the Mobile Black Mardi Gras Society.
The first “Coloured Carnival Association” was formed in 1939- It later became the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association. The Royal Court styled as King Elexis I http://www.mamga.com/
...sadly underneath all the layers of pretence today, there is still a strong racial divide in this part of the country.


Some of the photos show a closer look at the details, I just love all the embroidery, feathers and bling that has been used. Each year a queen and king are selected from the society, the design of the gown and their trains are selected based on their interests or family history. Two examples below are a train based on her favourite story which is The Princess and The Frog - you will see a heavily embossed frog on a cream and green train below, and the other showing a piano, representing his talent.
The museum also has a large collection of of early lithographs showing fanciful parades, coronation invitations, crowns, and many early photographs of the King's court.




Remember that this represents only one association/society. Each Mystic group has their own King or queen. In case you are wondering, it is typical for each king or queen to pay for their own costume. Most are old Mobile/old money so it must be a piece of cake!

I went a bit overboard taking photos, but I just loved them all and wanted to have the memory. You never know, one day when I am selected queen I will need these design ideas and embroidery details as a reference source.

http://www.mobilechamber.com/mardigras.asp a link with lots of other links to all Mobile Mardi Gras.

Some of these photos were taken by Cheryl.