• Your toddler has glitter all over his mouth and looks like he made out with a stripper.
• Beads are flying around the car on the drive home from school.
• You’ve eaten something king cake for breakfast more times this week than you care to admit.

So much fun to be had during carnival. Parade season is in full swing and it’s almost over. Mardi Gras is scheduled to occur 47 days before Easter and can occur on any Tuesday between February 3 -March 9th. There are only a few parades left for the 2018 season. Grab some king cake while you can and I’ll share a taste of my favorite traditions that you might want to partake in next year. https://www.randazzokingcake.com

The word Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” and reflects on the practice of indulging in rich food before the lent season begins. The carnival season is based on Catholic traditions and events start after the Twelfth Night on January 6th. You can find delicious king cakes right after Christmas and all throughout the carnival season. On the coast these cakes are baked using a twisted cinnamon roll-style dough and can be filled with cream cheese or fruity filling. A small plastic baby to represent baby Jesus is hidden inside the cake. It’s southern tradition for whoever finds the baby inside their cake to host the next Mardi Gras gathering and buy the next cake. These hard to resist cakes are topped with icing and sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, gold and purple. The official colors were designated by the Krewe of Rex in 1872 and represent faith, power and justice. If you get depressed thinking about taking down Christmas decorations try decorating your home in these festive Mardi Gras colors and you’ll have an excuse to leave everything up until Ash Wednesday.

New Orleans is usually the first city that comes to mind when you think about Fat Tuesday. Mobile, Alabama actually started holding Mardi Gras celebrations in 1703, fifteen years before New Orleans caught on to the practice. Mystic societies in Mobile present parades and balls for members and the public to participate in during carnival season. Kings and Queens are crowned and balls are a great excuse to bust out your best black tie formals. Similar societies called Krewes were modeled after the mystics in New Orleans and along the Coast. Members are assessed fees to fund events and parading members are usually responsible for providing their own throws, aka beads and trinkets thrown out to the crowd.

New Orleans is well know for parades filled with spectacle and debauchery. Outside the French Quarter and along the coast you can find family friendly parades to enjoy where clothing isn’t optional and semi truck style floats throw plastic balls, cups, frisbees, stuffed animals, moon pies and hula hoops out to the crowd while everyone gets their boogie on.

So pack a cooler, get gussied up in Mardi Gras gear and come out to enjoy one of my favorite coastal traditions. Here are Fat Tuesday dates for the next five years so you can plan ahead:

• March 5, 2019
• February 25, 2020
• February 16, 2021
• March 1, 2022
• February 21, 2023

Let the good times roll and don’t let a little rain spoil your fun.

Xoxo,

Sarah

P.S. I got this festive dress delivered for $35 via Amazon Prime

Forum 1920’s Masquerade Party Costume, Multi-Colored, One Size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BHE168/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_70FGAbN1TDM25

Rain boots too

NORTY Womens Hurricane Wellie Solid Gloss Mid-Calf Rain Boot, Hunter 38738-9B(M) US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AES69S4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ngHGAbXK58X9A