Mardi Gras

Friday, 1 February 2008

I don't remember where I heard the 2 words "Mardi Gras" before. I must have learnt that during my school days. "Mardi Gras" means "Fat Tuesday" in French. It is the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day before Lent [40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter].

Yuma was celebrating it tonight (Friday) at the Main Street. I was excited to see what it was all about.

First stall that attracted me was the colorful shiny metallic beads necklaces!

Kettle popcorn! I like that! I don't know why they are called kettle popcorn and not Kuali popcorn when they are made in the giant kuali?

It was disapponting to queue and arrive at the distribution table and be told that there are no more foam cups! It was only like 8 pm and there wouldn't be any more cups distributed. They had designated a certain number of cups and when they were gone, that was it. You paid $5 for 8 foams cups and joined another queue for free Gumbo!

Gumbo is a kind of stew that is a staple of the Mardi Gras celebations. I would sure like to try that one day. Tonight I got to try Jambalaya instead! Didn't know Jambalaya is the name of a food. I knew Jambalaya as the name of a song! It cost $3 for a bowl of Jambalaya. I liked it even though it was a little spicy.

Stalls selling colorful headwear - crowns, hats, eye masks, etc.

What was missing in tonight's celebration was a carnival. I met 2 couples, dressed up, and enjoying themselves walking along the street. They were happy I wanted a picture taken with them. One lady presented me a Mardi Gras ring and another lady placed her headwear onto my head for the shot.

Anybody for Desert Cajuns?

I ended up with beads necklaces (which were distributed free by one stall) and $4 kettle popcorn.