Editor’s note: Due to the threat of rain, the Mardi Gras Indian Council announced Friday morning, (10/14) that the event has been rescheduled for March 23, 2014. All details remain the same.
Cold rain doomed the fun for most of the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans on Fat Tuesday. As my colleague Geraldine Wyckoff says, “Feathers and rain don’t mix.” (If you don’t read her work, you should. Click here for the site.) So, your first chance to see the new suits is Sunday, March 16.
The festivities begin at A.L. Davis Park on the corner of Lasalle and Washington in the Central City neighborhood at 11 AM. The parade, which heads downtown on Lasalle, turns lake bound on M.L.K., uptown on S. Claiborne Avenue before returning to the park via Washington river bound, begins at 1 PM.
While most fans of the Indians tend to gather at the park before the parade begins, it is actually the worst place to see their phantasmagoric creations because of how crowded it gets. A better bet, particularly if you are a photographer, is to look for the parade along the route. Another option is to arrive at the park as the beginning of the parade is returning.
The weather forecast is for a chance of rain, but that probably won’t stop most of the Indians since they were unable to come out on Mardi Gras.
For those keeping track of who was out on Fat Tuesday, Big Chief Donald Harrison (pictured below) of the Congo Nation got an hour or so outside before retreating due to the rain. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux did his traditional walk from Valence and Magnolia to Second and Dryades uptown around 1 PM. My spyboy tells me that there wasn’t a soul about on the route and when they got to the famed intersection it was deserted.
Downtown, Big Chief Victor Harris of the Spirit of the Fi Yi Yi made it out, as did a few other tribes that stayed under the overpass on N. Claiborne Avenue.
Technical note: while this event is now widely known as Super Sunday, Super Sunday actually refers to the now-defunct Mardi Gras Indian parade from Bayou St. John, which was sponsored by the downtown organization Tambourine and Fan. Uptown Indians refer to their event as “Indian Sunday” hence the header at the top of this page. As of press time, Kermit Ruffins was attempting to resurrect the sorely missed downtown event.
PHOTO OF HARRISON: MICHAEL WEINTROB
