News and information from the New Orleans area
Posts tagged New Orleans Mardi Gras
MUSES Charity Ebay Auction Raises $8,899!!
012 years
Garrett Hartley in Muses Shoe for Super Bowl Parade
I think the world of Muses for many reasons, their incredible throws, floats, charity events like this one, etc. All women clinches the deal, I think the world of Muses!
Below is from the Muses website, the auction ended yesterday.
Are you ready to roll with the Muses?
Did you hear the membership was closed and the wait-list was over 500 women long?
Attention wannabe Goddesses! This is a once in a lifetime chance for a woman to ride in the 2012 Krewe of Muses Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans on Thursday, February 16, 2012. Join riding Muses for the annual and much anticipated parade… and jump ahead of the 500+ Muses on the wait list!
Ask anyone who has rolled with the Muses…It’s absolutely Inspirational!
The minimum bid for the ride is $1,000 and the rider must be a woman over the age of 18. Prize includes priceless ride plus costume, mask, entry to the riding-members-only pre-party beginning at 2:00 p.m. and the (always amazing and much anticipated) post-parade aMUSEment Party, plus a small package of throws (not enough for the ride.) Throws, which cost approximately $1,000, must be purchased separately and are available through the Krewe of Muses.
PARADE FOR A CAUSE! The recipient of the proceeds is the Young Survival Coalition, which is the premier global organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. YSC offers resources, connections and outreach so women feel supported, empowered and hopeful.
For tax purposes, we value this item at $770. Any excess amount paid may be tax-deductible. However, you should consult your tax professional.
Please contact the Krewe of Muses at info@kreweofmuses.org or (504) 269-1422 with any questions. The winner should contact Muses as soon as possible after the auction closes to obtain important information regarding the ride.
Make your Mardi Gras Muses fantasies come true!!!
The auction ends at 6 p.m. CST on 1/15/2012.
2012 New Orleans Mardi Gras Forecast!! part 1, Sports Influence
012 years
Carnival 2012 ends February 21, 2012. By that time, one hell of party will take place. There are developments in the sports world that will help build the crescendo that occurs on Fat Tuesday.
LSU is playing for all the marbles against hated rival Alabama, whose butt they already kicked, 9-6! That’s why LSU is rated number 1, and Alabama is rated number 2. Next, the Alabama coach Lou Saban, used to coach LSU, before he left to go to AL. AL’s only loss this season is to LSU, and LSU is undefeated. That creates a lot of excitement for the BCS championship game in the Superdome January 9th. I predict LSU will win this game.
The New Orleans Saints are on a bit of a roll themselves. Quarterback Drew Brees beat a 27 year record for most yards thrown in a single season (completed passes only). The great Dan Marino held that record.
The Saints are finishing the season very, very strong. Both the offense and defense are rolling over each team, game after game as the regular season finishes up. The team’s superior conditioning is paying off with less injuries and a higher level of play as the season winds down.
A couple of seasons ago, when the Saints won the Super Bowl, they won their division early and lost the last few games of the season. They earned the extra week off (bye week) and played at home. The rest was very important, as was playing in the Super Dome. This year, because they lost a few games in the beginning of the season, they probably won’t earn the bye week and home field advantage.
Drew Brees, Sean Payton and Super Bowl Trophy!!
All this adds to a huge Who Dat Nation push and buzz added to Carnival 2012.
On Sunday, Jan 23, the NFC Championship game will be played at 3:00 p.m. and the AFC Championship will be at 6:00.
Super Bowl XLV (45) will be at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb 5 in Indianapolis. Mardi Gras is Feb 21. If we make it to the NFC Championship game, it’s within a month of Fat Tuesday.
I remember the year we won the Superbowl, Mardi Gras was as much a tribute to the Saints as could be. My number 1 parade that year was the special Saints Victory parade, which was so unique and traditional at once, it was a once in a decade parade experience.
Super Bowl Champs N.O. Saints Super Parade AP
I march with Krewe du Vieux in early February with the Krewe of Underwear, and I remember screaming that Super Bowl victory season Who Dat to the World!! and high fiving everyone as I passed them. KdV rolls Saturday, February 4, with the Super Bowl Sunday February 5.
Chances are with the way we are playing, we’ll make it the Championship Game again. The team has won 9 in a row, and they are setting records game after game.
Today, for the last game of the season, on January 1, 2012, the Saints won 45-17 over the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers scored 17 points in the first half, and zero points in the second. The Saints are on a major roll, and we have the home field advantage for the first playoff game. Here is the 2012 playoff schedule for January 7 & 8:
Saturday, Jan. 7
AFC: No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) at No. 3 Houston Texans (10-6), 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
NFC: No. 6 Detroit Lions (10-6) at No. 3 New Orleans Saints (13-3), 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday, Jan. 8
NFC: No. 5 Atlanta Falcons (10-6) at New York Giants (9-7), 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
AFC: No. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) at No. 4 Denver Broncos (8-8), 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Out of Town High School Band Member Talks About His Mardi Gras Experience
014 years
Not a big fan of the NOLA Mardi Gras blog because of a participant named Bacchusrider, a big bully and worse, but this story was just too cool to pass up. This from Syracuse.com, and was written by Anthony Veiga with Taylor Clarke from the Post-Standard.
Parade made all the work worthwhile
Contributing writer
Last summer my high school’s jazz band set out to raise money to help pay for a trip to New Orleans. We knew that selling candy bars and baked goods wouldn’t get us enough money, so we performed a dozen gigs. Had it been any other trip, all this fundraising might not have been sustained, especially over the summer, but we were excited and determined to perform in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
When we left, just days after the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and at the start of the Mardi Gras festivities, we knew our dedication over the summer was going to be worth it.
After a 24-hour bus trip, we arrived in our host city, Chalmette, and were shown to a mansion where we watched our first Mardi Gras parade. The shower of beads that were thrown at us (none earned in the well-known manner) were all very different in color and size.
Our first morning there, we awoke to a performance by the Chalmette High School jazz and concert ensembles. They clearly had the “Southern” jazz style down, and when they played “When the Saints Go Marching In” chills went down our spines. We followed with our own “Northern” version of the song. We played as in tune and loud as possible, convincing some Chalmette students that the northern “funk” way was the only way to play that song.
We spent the rest of the day sightseeing on a jazz cruise and resting up for our big event the following day: playing in a 13.5-mile-long Mardi Gras parade with the Chalmette musicians.
Before the parade, we learned a Southern-style dance with the other students, which got us even more excited for the parade. At the launch site we assumed our position at the front of the entire parade: students from Mexico Academy were going to lead the Krewe of Thoth. We played our hearts out. It was tiring, but we continued on and 13.5 miles later, when the end came, everyone thought it was worth it. In fact, some wanted to keep going.
When we arrived, we weren’t sure we could make it through such a long parade. We left New Orleans only wanting to return and be a part of Mardi Gras all over again.
Float builders would get new civil suit immunity under House bill
014 years
The House Commerce Committee voted without dissent Tuesday to expand existing immunity from Mardi Gras-related civil lawsuits to include float builders and other service providers to krewes.
Current law protects krewes or other parading organizations and their members from any civil actions arising from any loss or injury suffered during a parade except in cases of a “wanton act or gross negligence” or in cases where the defendant was driving a motor vehicle during the parade. House Bill 902 by Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-Algiers, would add “any service provider” of the krewes to the list of protected individuals and businesses.
Arnold said he may amend the bill on the House floor to make it clear that a float builder could still be sued for “gross negligence,” though that standard puts a high burden of proof on a plaintiff.
“We just don’t want somebody who gets hit in the face with beads to be able to look down the list and say, ‘Oh, I’ll sue the float builder,'” Arnold said. “They really should have been included when we first passed” the Mardi Gras immunity law.