Many people travel across the country to visit New Orleans for the Mardi Gras celebrations. We were lucky; Mardi Gras came to us! All we had to do was go down the hall to the auditorium. Upon entering, the first thing we noticed was the traditional decorations and colors of Mardi Gras. There were deep purples representing justice, green representing faith and gold representing power. Mardi Gras balloons rose from the tables, glittered banners and giant masks hung on the wall, while foil streamers dangled from the ceiling.
Cheers and applause filled the room as the Mardi Gras Royal Court was announced. The beautiful and gracious Queen Susanna and the gentle-hearted King George processed in one by one, along with their court:
- Mother of the Queen, and Keeper of the Beautiful Flowers and Bows, Princess Joanne
- Princess Ruth, only daughter of the King and Queen and Keeper of the Official Library
- Kind and generous Court Jester, Ellen
- Duchess Beverly whose responsibility is of Hospitality for the Royal Family
- Baroness Evelyn, who has a Kingdom on the other side of the world
- King Jack from Africa, who presented our King and Queen with gold
- The Queen’s personal assistant, Arlene, who makes sure the Queen looks beautiful every day
- Kitty, the Royal Protector Dog and Joyce, the Royal Dog Trainer
After the entrance of the Royal Court, it was time for some fun and games. We began with our traditional Mardi Gras dice game. Everyone rolled a die, trying to match the number on the die that Mother Marguerite rolled. The last person to have the correct number won a dollar! After several rounds (and dollars), we formed a circle to play Hot Potato. Two soft footballs made their rounds until only the winner – Beverly – remained! But we were all winners as we finished off the party with root beer floats.
As “When the Saints Come Marching In” played in the background, we left the auditorium with a little dance in our steps. This Mardi Gras party gave us one last celebration before Ash Wednesday brought us into the Lenten Season.
Mardi Gras