Hot on the heels of the holiday season comes Carnival season in New Orleans. This year will be a very short one as Mardi Gras is on February 9—barely over a month between the auspicious beginning on Twelfth Night (January 6), also known as King’s Day and the Feast of the Epiphany, and the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
Though rooted in the Catholic calendar, our celebrations are more secular. Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of 40 days (not counting Sundays) of fasting and penance before the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter.
My favorite way to begin the season is to head over the streetcar barn on Willow Street just off of Carrollton Avenue and watch the Phunny Phorty Phellows load up a streetcar and take off towards St. Charles Avenue. The Storyville Stompers Brass Band always provides the musical merriment to the maskers of the PPP.
The group is a revival of a much older 19th century organization, which came back into existence in 1981. They choose their king based on an old tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. He is known as “the boss.” Their motto is “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the best of men.”
There are a few choices for musical entertainment geared to the start of Carnival season. Vaughan’s Lounge, the Ninth Ward hotspot, which is featured in my latest book, holds a Twelfth Night party featuring the aforementioned Storyville Stompers at 9 PM. Costumes are encouraged.
Walter “Wolfman” Washington will be throwing down at his regular gig on Wednesday nights at D.B.A. He will certainly play a few Carnival inspired tunes and I would not be surprised if Al “Carnival Time” Johnson shows up to sing his singular, signature tune.
The Maple Leaf Bar is known for their irreverent Carnival organization, the Krewe of OAK. It’s a stone’s throw from the streetcar bar and is a logical place to continue the party. Cha Wa, a band featuring Mardi Gras Indian chanting by Spy Boy Irving “Honey” Bannister, will provide the entertainment.
