Buzz Mills
New Member
Heavy Storms Threaten Mardi Gras Events
NEW ORLEANS - The Bacchus Lounge is a shell of its former self gutted to the studs after Hurricane Katrina flooded it to the ceiling but the Krewe of Dreux was determined to celebrate Mardi Gras at the little neighborhood bar Saturday and, weather permitting, march through the surrounding devastation. Heavy storms in the forecast threatened to drown many of the day's activities: the large, like the celebrity-studded Krewe of Endymion's parade on elaborate floats through the relatively unscathed Uptown area; and the small, like the ragtag Krewe of Dreux's 34th annual trek through the flood-ravaged Gentilly neighborhood.
"We're winging it," Bacchus patron and Krewe of Dreux member Dave Stephens, who helped gut the bar, said Friday. "We're going to see what the weather does. We plan to march. If the weather prevents that, then we'll party at the Bacchus." This is the last big weekend of the annual Carnival season, culminating on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, on Feb. 28 with parades and street parties in and around the city. Tourism officials and merchants are hoping that the event will gin up an economy reeling since Katrina hit on Aug. 29, flooding 80 percent of the city and dispersing more than two thirds of the population.
There were promising signs Friday in the French Quarter, as the streets began filling with revelers, many in costumes white Elvis jumpsuits, sexy bustiers, T-shirts with obscene slogans taking aim at government officials. "We're already starting to pack them in," said a jubilant Lisa Linscott, bartender at the Old Absinthe House bar.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060225/ap_on_re_us/mardi_gras_7
NEW ORLEANS - The Bacchus Lounge is a shell of its former self gutted to the studs after Hurricane Katrina flooded it to the ceiling but the Krewe of Dreux was determined to celebrate Mardi Gras at the little neighborhood bar Saturday and, weather permitting, march through the surrounding devastation. Heavy storms in the forecast threatened to drown many of the day's activities: the large, like the celebrity-studded Krewe of Endymion's parade on elaborate floats through the relatively unscathed Uptown area; and the small, like the ragtag Krewe of Dreux's 34th annual trek through the flood-ravaged Gentilly neighborhood.
"We're winging it," Bacchus patron and Krewe of Dreux member Dave Stephens, who helped gut the bar, said Friday. "We're going to see what the weather does. We plan to march. If the weather prevents that, then we'll party at the Bacchus." This is the last big weekend of the annual Carnival season, culminating on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, on Feb. 28 with parades and street parties in and around the city. Tourism officials and merchants are hoping that the event will gin up an economy reeling since Katrina hit on Aug. 29, flooding 80 percent of the city and dispersing more than two thirds of the population.
There were promising signs Friday in the French Quarter, as the streets began filling with revelers, many in costumes white Elvis jumpsuits, sexy bustiers, T-shirts with obscene slogans taking aim at government officials. "We're already starting to pack them in," said a jubilant Lisa Linscott, bartender at the Old Absinthe House bar.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060225/ap_on_re_us/mardi_gras_7