You Just THOUGHT the Holidays Were Over!

Oh, no, biotch: Miss Ginger's favorite ones are just beginning!

January 6th marks the 12th night of Christmas, celebrated as the Feast of the Epiphany, the start of the carnival season!

Some celebrate 12th night on the 5th, and there's actually lots of debate a confusion about the exact date of 12th night. Do you count Christmas? Do you count "days" or "nights". In the Krewe of Olympus we follow the medieval custom of starting each day at sunset ('cause you get to start drinking a whole day earlier!), so we always celebrate on January 6th, and party through until Mardi Gras.

12th night is usually celebrated with a King Cake, and the modern version has a little plastic baby hidden in one of the slices. The person who recieves the slice with the baby is thought to have good fortune for the rest of the year. They also have to throw the next king cake party!

BTW, the Christmas Wreath you hang on your front door is a representation of the wreath-shaped King Cake!

The length of the Carnival Season varies from year to year, depending upon the Sunday of Easter. The date for Easter is determined by a complicated algorithm involving "Ecclesiastical Full Moons" and all sorts of giberrish Miss G couldn't possible follow, so she just looks on a calendar! From Easter Sunday, one can count back 40 days to Ash Wednesday, and one more day to Mardi Gras!

It's kind of funny that the position of Mardi Gras on the calendar is always such a topic of conversation during carnival! You will hear people all over Louisiana commenting: "Mardi Gras is so EARLY this year!", or "Mardi Gras is so LATE- I hope it's not hot!"

This year Mardi Gras is on February 16th, which is a little early. Most often it falls at the end of February, around Boy G's birthday, and it can fall well into March some years. On the 16th, it's likely to be quite cold out, and the French Quarter's riverfront location makes it quite windy, so this could be a very chilly year.

Miss G hasn't made the trip to NOLA for Mardi Gras in several years, and she's thinking this year might just be the one to return to her roots, which, contrary to popular belief, ARE red! Anyone want to meet up in NOLA?

The Mardi Gras Madness Begins!!!

Well,  Christmas is finally over, and the greatest holiday of the year is ahead of us:  Mardi Gras!! This one's going to be particularly crazy for Miss G, as she has barely begun working on her costume!  As you may have seen in the past,  they are usually quite elaborate, and huge! 
But first, there's money to raise to pay for this shindig!  There Krewe's 12th Night Party, our final fundraiser of the year, is coming up January 8th, and it should be a real humdinger!!

Part of the fun that night will be a silent auction, and we're really excited to be able to showcase the art of one of our supporters, Houston's own Kermit Eisenhut! Kermit is an incredible artist and one helluva nice guy!  Miss Ginger has had the pleasure to come to know him through his work with Art League Houston, one of the Krewe's beneficiaries this year! Kermit is integrally involved in the League's Healing Arts program, and has worked with the group to create a couple of art chairs that he has donated for our silent auction!!

We're really excited to be able to offer an item from this noted artist, so you local 'Snaps make sure you come to the event and submit your bids!!  Hell, even if you're not local,  email Miss Ginger your bid and she'll submit it for you!

This is a "red letter" Mardi Gras for Miss G for a several other reasons, a couple of which she will note here!  First,  Miss G will return to the Crescent City to celebrate this glorious holiday, something she has not done for many, many years!!  There is NOTHING like Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, and everybody should see it at least once in their life!!

It's crowded and loud, but everybody is there to party and have a good time, so you hardly even notice it!  And, don't think it's too late to plan a trip to the Big Easy!  Miss G just made her reservations last night, so she knows for a fact there are still plenty of rooms available!  Let her know if you need hotel recommendations- she's stayed in most of them at some point or another!! She'll be at the Omni Royal Orleans this time... she's never stayed there before, but Momma G loved it so it must be nice!! And, it's a GREAT location!!

Another reason this will be a special Mardi Gras is because she will get the chance to meet the one and only, incomparable Amber LeMay!!  Yes, folks, the LeMay sisters are leaving all that snow in Vermont to vacation in the Big Easy for Mardi Gras, and Miss G certainly looks forward to meeting them!! 

Miss G has more to share, but that's for later!  She's got to get to bed, and you folks all have reservations to book!  Orbitz, Expedia, or whatever you have to do, but figure out how you're going to get yourself to NOLA for the big party!!  And, since Mardi Gras is so late this year,  you really don't have to worry about NOLA becoming SNOWLA and ruining your trip!

See ya there!! 

Almost Mardi Gras!

It's Mardi Gras weekend, and unfortunately, Queen Ginger isn't traveling to NOLA to partake in the activities. Actually, at this point, she's very glad she didn't plan to go, as torrential rains have poured on the Gulf Coast all weekend!

Tonight was the Endymion Parade, followed by a ball so big it's known as "The Endymion Experience".  As you can see by the photo, it was quite rainy outdoors, but Endymion is so huge (and well funded) that the parade meanders from it's starting point uptown all the way to the Superdome, where the floats, bands, and revelers literally parade right up the ramps into the cavernous building, and the floats form the backdrop for one enormous party!! Queen G has never made it to an Endymion ball, but it's definitely on her bucket list!


Queen G has pretty much already had her big Mardi Gras celebration for the year, and Tuesday she will be ass-deep in work with meetings and visits, so she won't get to drink, flirt, and second line through the day- but no one can keep her from hearing her favorite Mardi Gras soundtrack in her brain all day!  You'll have to sing along in your brain, too, because Queen G couldn't find a decent vocal to embed, so she'll give you the lyrics along with the inimitable Pete Fountain!




While we danced, as we dreamed, at the Mardi Gras.
Was romance what it seemed at the Mardi Gras?
Was the love that we made just a brief masquerade?
Was it gone with the song that the orchestra played?
With a sigh, with a glance at the moon above
was it just by chance that we spoke of love?
Or do you somehow feel
that the wonder was real?
While we danced at the Mardi Gras!

More Mardi Gras Fascinating Facts!

While the "big cities" in Louisiana, like New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Lafayette all have Mardi Gras krewes, parades, balls,  etc.,  the smaller rural towns have a festive Mardi Gras tradition of their own.

Beginning early in the morning on Fat Tuesday,  the local Mardi Gras captain in these small towns leads his Courir de Mardi Gras through town and countryside.  Typically,  these revelers, usually somewhat drunken, ride horseback, but in modern times some communities use flatbed trucks so that the children of the family may be safely included. The purpose of the courir, or ride, is to collect ingredients from throughout the area to create a communal supper for the evening.  

As the group arrives at each home,  the captain asks permission to enter,  and then the revellers beg, sing, dance, or jump through whatever hoops the landowner devises to convince them to offer an ingredient for the gumbo. They move from house to house, collecting whatever ingredient each home can provide, until mid afternoon, when they parade through the main street to the town square (all Cajun towns have one!) to cook the gumbo.  Around sunset,  all the townspeople come out to the square to eat, drink, and be merry until midnight,  when Fat Tuesday gives way to Ash Wednesday, and lent begins.


Doesn't that sound like a blast?!  Queen Ginger has never lived in a town small enough to have a courir, but it sure seems like a great way to celebrate Mardi Gras, wherever you are in the world!!  Who's going to create a courir in their neighborhood?

Happy Lundi Gras!

What's that? You've never heard of Lundi Gras?  Well, quelle surprise, since it really isn't a holiday!  And you can confirm this by looking it up on Wikipedia, which isn't really an encyclopedia, so that settles it!

Lundi Gras is one of those "Hallmark holiday" kind of marketing schemes dreamed up several years ago by a greedy marketing tyrant tradition-minded city leaders to bilk the tourists out of every possible dollar extend the celebration and spirit of Mardi Gras!  Literally "Fat Monday", the term has come to mean, simply, the Monday before Mardi Gras.

The "official" Lundi Gras celebration takes place along the riverfront, with bands, entertainment, and gradually expanding crowds that peak around sunset, when the King of Rex and the Zulu King come across the river by boat and meet at Spanish Plaza for a celebratory toast.

Nowadays, people celebrate Lundi Gras all over the city,  and Boy G and his old pal John from back home spent the late morning and early afternoon walking the French Quarter and watching the city gear up for the party.  Jackson Square was already gathering quite a crowd by mid day,  with the usual artists and street performers joined by still more bible thumping christians and self-proclaimed missionaries.

The party spilled from the Square and Bourbon Street all up and down Royal, the usually reserved, daytime pedestrian street that is home to many of the cities finest antique and art dealers.  Today, however,  the street was filled with street performers, musicians, mimes, and such, of varying qualities and talents. The tourists were clearly into it, and rewarded them with attention, photos, and generous tips!!

Almost every balcony in the quarter had people with beads bargaining with the crowd below for a glimpse of this or that.  Spirited tourists frequented the balconies of hotels and guest houses with cases of beads, boas, and other throws to taunt the passersby.

In the more residential areas of the Quarter, families and locals drank, entertained, and just soaked in the party atmosphere.

And, of course, in the gay section of the quarter,  men with beads on the balconies taunted boys with bodies below, offering the largest, most luxurious strands of beads to the boys who showed the most!

It is truly impossible to be anywhere in the city and not be sucked into the spirit of the celebration!  Booze flows, beads fly, but mostly, EVERYONE wishes one another "Happy Mardi Gras" at the world's largest party!

"Everywhere Else It's Just Tuesday!"

Happy Mardi Gras, everybody!  This girl's sign just kinda says it all, doncha think!?  It's been a very interesting, very unusual, but very awesome Mardi Gras for Queen Ginger, and it will probably take a few posts for her to share it all with you!!


First, you must know that Miss G risked life and phlegm to bring you these on-the-scene shots of the festivities!  When she woke up this morning, she discovered this sinus thing had dropped to her chest, so she was way too miserable to drag out the drag and be a part of the scene! She sent Boy G out, incognito and sober, to spend his day taking in the sights and snapping these pics for our gentle readers!

As soon as Boy G left the hotel, he ran smack dab into Pete Fountain's Half-Fast Walking Club,  a legend among New Orleans locals and one of the most popular walking clubs in the city!  Now, don't confuse these guys with mall walkers or anyone who walks for their health!  Click here to learn about the purpose of walking clubs and their contribution to the party!

Boy G got so distracted by one handsome walker....

....that he almost missed the opportunity to catch this awesome shot of the Legendary Pete Fountain himself!  Boy G fondly remembers seeing Pete play live with Momma and Poppa G back when Pete had a place in the New Orleans Hilton.










After taking in the sights along Royal Street,  Boy G wandered up Dumaine to Lafittes, where the costumed revelers were gathering for the annual Bourbon Street Awards, to be held at noon.

Here, Boy G was able to catch up with some of the gang from home, and finally found the person she had been looking for all weekend long:

...the elusive Amber LeMay!! Of course, Amber was all dolled up in her Mardi Gras finest, and Miss Ginger was just sick that she didn't get to meet her!  Lucy Belle and the other girls were off at the parades, but being the hard-core party gurl that is Amber, she wanted to stay in the French Quarter to she wouldn't miss a sinful inch of the party!  I always knew she was from good people!!

Amber was, as always, the Belle of the Ball, and was having a great time meeting the crowds and oggling over the fabulous, creative costumes that are a hallmark of a French Quarter Mardi Gras!










We saw:

Wonder Woman meets the Golden Girls!

The Doublemint Twins- Rehobeth Beach style!

Mary Poppins and her Spoonful of Sugar.

The Supremes- and their "Love Child"!

Rosie the Robot!

and many, many, more!!  Watch this spot for a couple more posts coming your way!  There's also some great costume pics on NOLA.com!

Mardi Gras is Coming!

Yes, folks, there WILL be Mardi Gras at Chez Ginger this year!  Since leaving her former Mardi Gras group, there hasn't been a lot of revelry and costuming around here. But that wrong is being righted!!! 

Behold:

The Mystic Society of Isis and Osiris!

Miss Ginger has been a member of this group since it's inception, as it is made up of people she loves and wants to be around. She has not been the most active member, since time and personal distractions have kept her from many of the activities, but wild horses could not drag her away from the inaugural ball:

Unlike her previous Mardi Gras group, which kept their event private, The Mystic Society's ball is open to the public… in fact, tickets are available through PayPal! 

It's a formal affair, but masking is encouraged, and Captain I has promised that instead of a long, drawn out presentation, this ball is going to be a non-stop party, with dancing, drinking, and the requisite debauchery!  All you folks along the Gulf Coast need to follow that link and snap up a ticket to this shin-dig, and if you're farther away… plan a road trip! It will be worth it!!  Hope to see you all there! 

The Mardi Gras Artistry of Sands Stiefer!

Miss Ginger's dear friends Sands and Weldon ("Dad and Mom") were married last week- in the state of California, at least. It will be a long time before bible-beating Texas will be recognizing civil unions!

You may remember that Miss G hosted their anniversary party last year. They are truly 2 of the most special people she knows!

Anyho, you may not know that Sands is an accomplished artist and painter! He has a few different "themes" he sometimes follows in a series, and one of them is Mardi Gras. Last night, for the Krewe of Olympus Fais Do Do party, Sands showed his Mardi Gras collection, and donated a generous 60% of the proceeds to the Krewe! There we paintings of the revelry in New Orleans, and also painted interpretations of many of the costumes we have presented at our ball in the past.

Last year's theme was "Olympus at the Library", and Miss Ginger was assigned to the genre of "sex education". Her costume was "Nurse Goodbody", the school nurse who demonstrates condom usage by rolling one down over a banana.

One of the paintings Sands sold last night was his rendering of Miss G's costume:

Of course, Miss Ginger had to buy it, and she had the staff hang it in the stairway, along with the prop she saved from the ball:

Maybe she'll dig the hat out of the garage and add that to the composition as well!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

Ya know why?  It's already been over a week- those New Years resolutions are shot!  Just when we begin to wallow in sadness over another set of goals not attained... 

WHAM!  12th Night!  The Feast of the Epiphany!  The official start of the Carnival season, an endless stream of parties and revelry that continues all the way to Mardi Gras!!


I'm sure those who are all into Jeebus are supposed to go to church for some grand celebration of faith....

but Miss G and her friends prefer to gather and enjoy a grand celebration of cake!!

Miss Ginger has long held Gambino's King Cakes to be the best... especially the one they make with a cream cheese filling!  Quite delicious!

Miss G's NOLA contacts have been telling her that the best King Cakes come from Randazzo's Bakery. But here's the dilemma: which one?

Would it be Randazzo's Camelia City Bakery in Slidell?

Or is it Manny Randazzo's King Cakes in Metairie?

Or, it might be Nonna Randazzo's Italian Bakery and Cafe in Covington?

Miss Ginger is pretty sure all of them would be better than the pathetic excuses we get for King Cakes here in Texas.  All the grocers start putting king cakes on the bakery shelves this time of year, and they are pretty much all wretched wreaths of dry coffee cake sprinkled with colored sugar.

But, if one washes  it down with sufficient adult beverages, even those can bring on the Mardi Gras spirit!

Happy Carnival, everyone!  Mardi Gras is late this year so we have a LONG time to celebrate!

Isis and Osiris Ball I Was a Major Success!

Now that the Mystic Society of Isis and Osiris has completed their first ball, Miss Ginger can share the festivities with you and show you some of the magic that was produced!

First, look at the room when we first walked into it: 

Plenty of space, but not exactly an elegant environment for a black tie affair!  No worries, however, as the professionals from Townsley Designs of Austin arrived with 4 truckloads of glitz and glam, and in no time flat had transformed the room into this swanky environment:

Now THAT'S a room for a Mardi Gras celebration like no one's ever seen in Houston, TX! 

Once the space was set, the costumes were loaded in, and the Ball was ready to roll! And roll it did, with a never-stopping soundtrack provided by DJ Dylan Barnes that kept guests dancing and mingling! 

The first costumes out were Ball Captain I, followed by Isis I and Osiris I, dressed to the theme as "Venetian Red." 

After a couple more costumes, some dancing, and lots of beads flying, Miss Ginger appeared as "Murano Glass Chandelier:"

The chandelier's arms were made of 1 1/2" clear tubing, reinforced with a length of metal shelf strapping to provide stiffness without extra weight.  The globes of the chandelier were made from gallon-sized plastic water bottles, melted into shape with a heat gun.  Of course, a chandelier has to light up, so the power was provided by 7 led puck lights.  It was a very fun costume, easy to make and wear, and the audience seemed to love it! 

Next on Miss Ginger's Mardi Gras social calendar is Houston's "Mystery and Fantasy Mardi Gras Party," another black tie/fancy dress event, which this year falls on Miss Ginger's birthday, February 22nd.  The theme is 'The Mystery and Fantasy of Sci Fi," so Miss G is thinking she may get a little more use out of that gold morph suit!  Miss G is not much of a Sci-Fi buff, so she's looking forward to some great suggestions from all of her 'snaps!  leave your ideas in the comments…. who knows, she may just bring it to life! 

Happy Mardi Gras!!

Queen Ginger and Princess Shelby wish you a very Happy Mardi Gras!!


The Queen will spend it in a day of meetings brushing up on her professional repertoire....   can anybody top that with plans for the funnest Mardi Gras ever?!

It's Done...Finally!

Okay, decking the halls was a 2 day project! Oye, vey, glad to be done! It was a hassle but totally worth the kafuffle! And, it's worth the time since it can stay up until the end of February! Yasee, clever Miss Ginger chose a Mardi Gras theme for her tree this year! So, the tree can stay up, the garland on the mantel can switch from pine to magnolia, and voila! Happy Mardi Gras! She is SUCH a clever gurl and is very proud of herself right now!

The tree itself a a sight to behold! It features the Frog Princess and Frog Princess as King and Queen of their own Froggi Gras Krewe!

And on the mantel, the Frog King is being entertained by a line of Flying Monkey Chorus Boys! Hey, Christmas is all about fantasy, so it works! And it's all embellished with lots of peackock plumes and glitter, glitter, glitter! Glitter fruit, glitter morning glories ( Miss G's favorite flower, BTW!) and glitter balls!

Miss Shelby is pretty proud of herself, too! Being the outdoorsey gurl that she is (?!) she just LOVES trees and branches! Of course, she thinks trees and branches come out of the attic in green Rubbermaid® totes, so her viewpoint is a tad skewed! Still, as soon as the boxes came down (maybe she's on to something?!) she pulled a loose branch of garland out and made it her own! God love her, she has not let that thing out of her sight all day! She sleeps on it, chews on it, and plays with it! If I had known a piece of green plastic tinsel could make a cat so happy I would have thrown her bone a long time ago! Jackson, of course, is WAAAAAAY too cool to be caught playing with a fake tree! Besides, he's busy hunting empty toilet paper rolls, his favorite prey!

Did I mention how much the kitties and I love the holidays?!

For the Girls....

You all know Queen Ginger LOVES her some lesbians! So, girls, here's a few Mardi Gras pics for you!

Happy Mardi Gras, Ladies!!