Showing posts with label Mardi Gras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mardi Gras. Show all posts

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Take a Trip to the Barkus and Meoux Parade 2015

Here are a few photos from the Barkus and Meoux parade today:

Grand Marshall Braveheart was quite the celebrity!  Very cool under pressure.



He met many fans today.


This is Angel:


And Mrs. T:


Of course we had lots, and lots of dogs but there were also pigs, goats, cats, rabbits, and chickens.



We had dogs dressed up as people and people dressed up as cats.



And people dressed up for the Bone Appetite theme!



People and dogs dressed alike...



Dogs dressed as bones...



Goat tacos...



And, of course, Blue Dog...



This event has grown so much since the days when it was a little neighborhood thing at A.C.Steere park!  The turnout each year is huge.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Shreveport Does The Highland Parade in a Big Way!

And now Mardi Gras 2012 is in the books.  What a beautiful day in Shreveport-land for a parade!

Mr. SIGIS and I almost missed the Highland Parade today due to doggie issues (Steve's white German Shepard had some doggie day surgery Friday and we've been monitoring stitches and trying to keep her in out of the rain).

We were not cleared to go to the parade until about an hour before roll time.  The Teenager volunteered to dog sit and so it was a go for us.  We got to our usual spot about ten minutes before the parade kicked off.  Because of our late arrival we didn't have front line status so we missed out on the cute stuffed toys and trinkets but we did score plenty more cheap plastic beads made in China!



As I say each year, the Highland Parade is just hands down my favorite parade because you meet the coolest, nicest people.   Steve and this guy (pictured) were bartering over chocolate and banana moon pies thrown from the floats and struck a trade deal (which was not influenced in the least by the green plastic sword this fellow is holding in his hand):



And as has been our record each year, Steve scored a hot dog from the Krewe of Bar B Que.  And if that wasn't enough, he also caught a sausage, pepperjack cheese, tortilla wrap!  LUNCH!



One of the fun things about living in the same place your entire life is that sense of community.  My friend Kathy is in the BBQ krewe and she sees to it that we get a hot dog every year! We are both in our 50s now, but we went to elementary school together.  She has aged much  better than I have!  One year when I was with The Teenager (he wasn't a teenager then) at that parade, Kathy leaned over the side of her float and gave him a cool bamboo spear decorated with feathers in Mardi Gras colors.  He was thrilled!

Anyway, when the Highland Parade was done we headed to a local eatery, Marilynn's Place, that was holding an after party.  I took a few pictures but you can't tell by them what a success this party was.


It was totally standing room only.  For you non-locals, Marilynn's is in a converted service station and keeps that service station theme in a lot of ways.  The big bay doors were thrown open and the parking lot was roped off for tables and a stage for the band.  We ate crawfish, beignets, and andouille dogs.



There was face painting and clowns making balloon animals for the kids.

Owner Boz stood on the roof of the place and threw beads out to the crowd....



... and a hot air balloon lifted off from the golf course right behind the restaurant.  The balloon was, of course, Mardi Gras colors.  When it got above the restaurant they dropped a glitter bomb and then dropped trinkets of some kind - I have no idea what they dropped because they all missed the crowd and landed in the drainage ditch across the street.


It was funny because then everyone ran across the street and down into the ditch to pick up whatever it was!  Not me.  I sat at my table with my andouille dog and my Abita.

All in all it was a beautiful, perfect day in SIGIS-land.

I'm off tomorrow for President's Day and plan to catch up on some political blogging then.  Among other things.

On a side note, last night someone reminded Jerry Jeff Walker that this Tuesday is Fat Tuesday and he said, "That's allright, I'll still be fat on Tuesday."  I know what he means!
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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus & Meoux Parade

It was a lovely afternoon for a parade!  An animal parade, that is.  A bit cool outside, but in the sun it was just right.  All the wind from yesterday has blown away and we were left today with clear blue skies.

Steve and I headed downtown to the riverfront to catch the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade.  The Barkus and Meoux Krewe began in 1999 and their mission is to develop, foster, and promote programs to benefit abused, neglected and homeless animals, as well as promote responsible pet ownership with public education about a voluntary spay/neuter program.

Steve and I like to get there early and walk around looking at the animals, the costumes, and the vendor booths.

The dog park booth was our first stop:


The Shreveport Dog Park Alliance is raising money to build Shreveport's first dog park.  I don't think my dogs are socialized enough to go to a dog park (they think they're the only dogs in the world) but we support the idea anyway.

We also visited The Canine Cabana booth; who wouldn't support a doggie spa and resort?!


We stopped to check on the hunt for little lost Cheeto who has been missing a few weeks now.  Cheeto disappeared from the Broadmoor area and was picked up by a lady in a blue SUV.  Cheeto has three legs and special needs but so far no one has come forward to return Cheeto.


There are flyers all over town so whoever has Cheeto must know that someone is trying to find this dog.  Sad.

UPDATED:  Cheeto has been found!  via Yogie and Friends:

For those of you who have been following the missing three-legged Yorkie, Cheeto, we are happy to report that HE HAS BEEN FOUND. He is pictured here in the arms of his estatic owner, Debbie Cowen. He has been missing since January 18th, so this is a true miracle for them. Thanks for all who were diligently watching and searching for Cheeto. Now Debbie can eat and sleep again. Lol! Welcome back Cheeto!
Good news!

The kids area was busy:


The crowd began to fill in with people taking seats on the terraced lawn facing the river:


And oh, the animals!  We saw a miniature horse:


or two...


A rabbit:


or three...


Resting dogs:


Dogs in tutus:


Humans dressed like dogs:


And dogs dressed like humans:



Dogs in floats:


Little dogs:


Big dogs:


People in costume:


Dogs in sunglasses:


Dogs in daisys:


Bulldogs!


And Bostons!


There were lots more.  I'll post The Times gallery link when it's up.

This is a great family event and I think the animals have more fun than the kids.  I've never seen so many happy dogs in one place.   In this parade there are more dog treats thrown than beads.  There are as many dogs watching the parade as there are IN the parade.  Good times for all.

Our next Mardi Gras event will be Sunday - the Krewe of Highland Parade!

Added:  The Times story.  And The Times photo gallery.
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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Take a Trip to the Centaur 2012 Parade


We have survived the 2012 Centaur parade; it was cold out there!  The temperature at parade time was about 37 but the wind was blowing and the sun was sinking and it felt colder.  You never know with the weather around here.  It was seventy degrees last week and freezing today. 

We always walk to the parade route from chez SIGIS.  It's not that far and is much easier than fighting the traffic after the parade. I have a friend that lives right on the route and so that's our base on parade day. 

She invites a crowd and everyone brings a potluck contribution.  This year a guy brought his deep fryer so our feast included fried cheese sticks, chicken tenders, and corndogs.  There was also boudin, burgers, jambalaya, steak on a stick, and plenty of sweets, chips and dips to go around.  I ate the best brownies I've ever had in my life.  After the parade the fixins' for s'mores come out and the kids are in hog heaven. 




We had three fire pits going:



...and I nearly caught myself on fire at least twice.

I love to people watch while sitting by the fire.  I saw people with wagons:

 


And people with tutus:


People eating:


And one group brought a couch and a basketball goal out there:



And there's a guy with a turkey on his head:


Some unfortunate soul got a ticket right before they closed the streets:


The house next door to where we were had this sign in their yard:


And in fact they did give away lots of coffee, cocoa and water.  Probably prayers, too!

There were plenty of bounce houses:


And I'm not sure what to make of this:


But lots of people just walked:


We ran into our good friend, Red.  I've known her for thirty years, at least:


But finally it was time for the parade.  And what magnificent animals to start it off!:


Look at those feet!:


Gorgeous animals.



They were followed by the Louisiana Tech Band:



Then the floats came.



People go crazy at parades.  It's all over cheap plastic beads from China and various other trinkets.  It's fun to reach up and snag some beads out of the air when a krewe member throws them to you.  Sometimes it's one string of beads, sometimes it's a tangled wad of beads.  Sometimes a krewe member will single you out, lean over the side and hand you something "special".  A guy on this float leaned over and handed me some beads in a plastic ziploc bag with a huge medallion on them and this guy standing next to me reached out and snagged it from my hand.


 I just looked incredulously at him, and said, "Dude!  Really?!?  He handed that to ME!"  He just laughed at me and lit a cigarette.  I thought about having a throw down right there in the middle of the road but didn't want to end up on the front page of the newspaper over some mardi gras beads.  I did step to the back of the crowd and just watched for a while, though.

This float was cool:


It's the year of the dragon:


These folks were fun to watch:


I loved the penguin float - their costumes were cool!:


Ahem.  The Democrat float?


Belly dancers!


The Mansfield High Marching Band:


The Seal Team Six float came by...:


...and it was a sobering moment:


The Saints float:


It was dark by the time the parade ended:


and by that time I was already back by the fire pit trying to thaw out!

We had a grand time despite the random jerk or two in the crowd and the cold!  Tomorrow is the Barkus and Meoux parade and then next week we'll forgo the Gemini parade in favor of  a Jerry Jeff Walker concert but we will catch the Highland Parade (and maybe catch a hot dog from the Krewe of Bar B Que!)

Laissez les bon temps rouler!
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