 |
|
|
Cajun
and Creole culture, New Orleans and Bourbon Street, riverboat rides, and Mardi
Gras are among the many attractions that Louisiana it's colorful reputation.
Louisiana is world famous for its food, especially its Creole and Cajun
specialties including gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and Andouille sausage, bread
pudding, Natchitoches meat pie, and all sorts of seafood.
Riverboat gambling is also going strong as Louisiana has four different
vessels that offer guests the opportunity to try their luck at a flood of slot
machines and gaming tables. The
Flamingo, Boomtown, Treasure Chest, and Bally’s are all land-based gaming
ships docked in different cities across the state. The
French Quarter, located in New Orleans, is a wonderful mix of clubs, souvenir
shops, antique stores, restaurants, voodoo vendors, and beautiful homes.
Bourbon Street, and its cross streets, house most of the tourist bars and
music clubs. Each street in the
Quarter has its own feel – some feature antique stores, others are full of
restaurants, etc. Definite
must-sees are Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the usually crowded Pat
O’Brien’s Bar. Another French
Quarter highlight is Decatur Street and Jackson
Square. It was originally built as
a parade ground for the French Army and was later used by the Spanish, the
Confederate Army, and the United States Army for the same purpose.
Today, it is the location for a number of historic homes and landmarks,
such as the St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere, the Cabildo, and the
neoclassical Pontalba Buildings. Also
located along Decatur street are the Central Grocery, the French Market, the Old
Mint (which houses a branch of the Louisiana State Museum devoted to jazz and
Mardi Gras) and the renovated Jackson Brewery (now a shopping mall). Baton Rouge is the second largest city in the state and one of the largest ports in the United States. It lies just north of New Orleans along the Mississippi River. If Louisiana politics interest you, we suggest that you visit the Old State Capitol-Louisiana Center for Political and Governmental History. The exhibit of Huey Long (known as either a populist or a dictator) is especially intriguing. There are many other exhibits that involve the use of videotapes, audiotapes, and hands-on materials. The building itself is unusual as it resembles a medieval castle and has a stained-glass ceiling.
Carnival
season runs through January and February (Ash Wednesday, to be exact).
This annual pre-Lenten blowout is a continuing tradition across the
state. A costumed posse rides
through the countryside collecting ingredients from farmers for a community
gumbo supper.
You will often see a rider with a clucking chicken under his arm. The
Courir du Mardi Gras (“running of the Mardi Gras”) is not celebrated
solely in New Orleans. Other towns
and cities participate in the festivities as well, often with tamer and more
traditional family-oriented celebrations. Mardi
Gras is Feb. 24 (2004). History
Much of the pomp employed by the old krewes comes from the entertainments planned in 1872 when the Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff came to New Orleans at carnival time in hot pursuit of actress Lydia Thompson. Forty businessmen got together and founded the Krewe of Rex, mounting a daytime parade in the archduke's honor. The city's upper-crust folks, always socially ambitious, decided to adopt the Romanoff household colors-purple (signifying justice), green (faith), and gold (power) - as the official Carnival colors. The local gentry also learned that the Grand Duke Alexis's favorite song was a regrettable ditty called "If Ever I Cease To Love" (88.5K WAV) from the New York musical Bluebeard that starred Ms. Thompson. All these years later, it remains the official song of Carnival. (The song is indeed so forgettable that many a jazz band gives up on the melody and plays a tune akin to "Little Brown Jug."(MIDI))
|
|
|
Louisiana
Festivals,
fairs, and parties are a way of life in Louisiana.
Mardi
Gras was celebrated in the Christian countries of Europe long before the
founding of the Crescent City. The day French-Canadian explorer Sieur
d'Iberville and his men camped 60 miles south of New Orleans in 1699 happened to
be Mardi Gras, March 3, so he named the place Pointe du Mardi Gras. It didn't
take long for the French to start celebrating this holiday in the New World.
Historians say that Mardi Gras was observed by masked balls and bawdy street
processions in New Orleans as early as the 1700s. By 1806, the festivities had
gotten so rowdy that Mardi Gras celebrations were forbidden, but by all
accounts, this law was summarily ignored. In 1817, masks were declared illegal.
But by 1823, the celebration that had been going on all along became legal
again, and by 1826 even masking was legalized. "Bals masque" (masked
balls), also known as "tableau balls," were so fashionable in the
nineteenth century that by law the season was limited to January 1 through Mardi
Gras Day in order to keep the population from celebrating all year long. In
1827, it was reported that John Davis's Theatre d'Orleans was such a glorious
event that it continued straight from Mardi Gras until St. Joseph's Day (on
March 19). By 1837, the "season" was lengthened to last from November
1 to June 1. There is much debate as to whether the first formal parade was held
in 1835 or 1838, but no matter, the parades that traversed the muddy streets are
said to have been wicked and satirical. The first krewe to parade was the
Mystick Krewe of Comus 
Don't bring bottles
or cans onto the streets of New Orleans. A city ordinance prohibits these
containers to reduce litter. Plastic cups will be provided when drinks are
purchased from shops, bars, and restaurants.