Every February in the Southern USA,
Mardi Gras happens.
Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is the week before Ash Wednesday that people cut loose and have a lot of fun and do some crazy things before giving them up for Lent that lasts the six weeks before Easter. My co-workers Beverly and Jason were in the break room at work talking about their participation in the Mardi Gras Parades that were going to happen in Pensacola and Pensacola Beach and throughout the Gulf States this past weekend, and I was piqued. I had a rare weekend off from work and was looking for something fun to do on Saturday. The Pensacola Mardi Gras celebration has been going on for over 100 years, and Mom and I were looking forward to enjoying our first Mardi Gras since moving to Pensacola eight months ago.
Mom and I were up early on February 21 and went grocery shopping before the parade. At Wal-Mart, there was an end cap of Mardi Gras beads and other accessories for one to buy for the day, and I grabbed a 12-pack of beads for Mom and I to wear to the parade not knowing the tons of beads that were going to be thrown from the parade floats during the festivities.
Mom and I left home about noon in order to get a decent parking place away from downtown Pensacola in order to get out of town after the parade quickly. I warned Mom ahead of time to be prepared for some walking to the parade, but we would be browsing and stopping at booths along the way. Mom and I parked on Baylen Street about a block from the Cervantes Street/Baylen Intersection. Mom and I were hoping to grab a bite to eat at a booth along the way, but there weren't many food or bead booths on Palafox as we walked around before the parade. So I settled for an order of Nachos and Mom got a hot dog.
Mom and I took a seat near the Nacho stand near St. Michael's Catholic Church and waited for 2:00 and the beginning of the parade. There was a good crowd for the parade on Palafox, but it wasn't so crowded that you couldn't move, and Mom and I were talking and enjoying the time before the parade. At 2 p.m., St. Michael's church bells rang twice as if to say "It's Showtime!", and Mom and I could only wait for the fun to begin, and it did promptly after the church bells rang.
We were totally unprepared for the fun of the Pensacola Mardi Gras Parade and the tons of beads and toys that were thrown from the hundreds of floats that passed us. I caught my first beads from the anchor of our local news station WEAR 3, and the fun began. Mom took a Moon Pie, the pastry of the Mardi Gras, off the chest and was caught totally unprepared for the bombardment of beads and goodies. One has to have the abilities of Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox in order to be able to catch beads, and I was soon yelling at the people in the floats and jumping all over the place to catch any beads that came towards Mom and me. Relax, Jacoby, your job as the Red Sox centerfielder is safe, but my two years of Little League were paying off during the whole parade! Some folks were a little more eager than Mom and I were, but they would apologize for bumping into you, and one gentleman gave Mom some beads that she should have caught but he intercepted. Mom and I caught about a half-dozen Moon Pies each, but we gave some of them to a young boy in front of us. "I hope I haven't been a corruptive influence on the youth of Pensacola by feeding them Moon Pies!", I quipped to Mom.
Three-quarters through the parade, Mom and I had tons of beads (it felt that way) of all colors, shapes, and styles around our necks and collecting on my jacket on the ground next to us. Now we knew why people had grocery bags or backpacks with them. Next year, we bring a couple of tote bags with us we vowed. With all of the beads on our necks, people looked like they were attending a Mr. T Convention, but it was all for a good time.
I couldn't find Jason on his Krewe's (the name for the groups who had floats in the parade) caveman float, and Beverly was too far away on her 1950's/biker float to hear my shouting at her, but both of their floats were awesome along with an Venetian Carnivale style float with the folks in black and gold masks and costume. I did see Steve from Garden on the Caveman Krewe float, and he later told me that Jason had quit the Krewe, and Bev said her sight is so bad she wouldn't have seen me from her location and the everyone was shouting for beads and she couldn't hear my yells! Pirates were the main theme this year for the floats, and the Krewe of Lafite, after the legendary pirate of Louisiana, Jean Lafite, was a big hit for all.
The parade through downtown Pensacola along Garden and Palafox Streets lasted about two hours, and after Mom and I bundled our beads into my coat or around our necks, we made our way to the car and were lucky to get out of Downtown Pensacola quickly. After a stop at Firehouse Subs, we got home and were tired, sore, and our voices were a little hoarse, but we would do this again in a heartbeat. Our beads are in a huge basket in our living room, and we gave our cats Zoe and Xena some broken beads to play with. The Pensacola Mardi Gras Parade is the weekend before Ash Wednesday and other parades happen in Milton, Pensacola Beach (Sunday, February 22), and throughout the Gulf States. Who said you had to go to New Orleans for the best Mardi Gras?! Come to Pensacola and experience this party for yourself!
From journal Wintertime Adventures in Pensacola and Navarre