Beads, booze and plastic babies are not typical holiday staples like eggs at Easter or fireworks on Independence Day. But for Louisiana residents, these staples indicate the most wonderful time of the year.
Smiley Anders, a columnist for the Advocate and the third king of Baton Rouge’s Spanish Town parade in 1984, said Louisiana’s Mardi Gras is unique to the state.
“It’s really something hard to explain outside of Louisiana, and people know about it, but until you’ve lived here and experienced it . . . It’s really my favorite event of the year,” he said.
Although Louisiana, and most specifically New Orleans, is a world-renowned Mardi Gras destination, the festival actually began in Rome when the city embraced Christianity. Rather than abolishing pagan rituals, early Church fathers incorporated them into the new faith. Like today, Carnival was a period of debauchery before the somber Lenten season.
In the United States, Mardi Gras reached Alabama before it hit Louisiana.
“The crazy thing is Mardi Gras started in Alabama, but Baton Rouge and Louisiana has embraced it as a strong part of our culture,” Whitney Breaux, the Director of Social Media and Public Relations at Wright Feigley Company, said. “It signifies something of a get away, a new experience of something fun, something exhilarating that you can’t experience anywhere else.”
Breaux’s favorite Baton Rouge parade is Spanish Town.
“I really like it because it jogs your creative bone a little. The slogans, the satire – it’s better than SNL [Saturday Night Live],” she said.
The 2011 Spanish Town theme is “BP Blows and Wiki Leaks” according to Bruce Childers, the president of the Society for the Preservation of Lagniappe in Louisiana (SPLL). SPLL is the organization that sponsors the Spanish Town Parade.
“We generally choose topics that are timely to political, national or just local events, but mainly we try to hit on local issues and come up with a name everyone can have a lot of fun with,” Childers said.
Anders, who also serves as a Spanish Town float judge, anticipates what kind of floats the theme will inspire.
“I’m sure we’ll see some really bad taste,” he said. “I’m looking forward to that.”
As a tip to contestants, Anders revealed one of his favorite parts of being a float judge.
“We actually have the float stop in front of the reviewing stand and some riders get off with a keg of beer which is an ultimate bribe, and we respond to bribes,” he said.
Both Childers and Anders have been involved with the Spanish Town Parade for a number of years.
Anders is even installing an extra bathroom for his home in Spanish Town because of the amount of traffic that rolls through during the parade.
“One of the main attractions we found is a bathroom,” he said.
Strangers will enter his home to use his bathroom, but Anders doesn’t mind.
“We say open house so we mean open house and anyone is welcome,” he said.
Childers, who has been involved for the better part of 20 years, said he is amazed at how the parade has grown.
“It was just residents in this mini-town that decided to walk around and throw beads in their front yards so it wasn’t a city wide attended event. It was primarily just for Spanish Town residents,” he said. “It took a life of its own and continued to grow with popularity within the neighborhood.”
Breaux, who has lived in Baton Rouge for the past 23 years, said she’s also impressed with its growth.
Of the previous Spanish Town kings, Smiley Anders is her favorite.
“You read his work every week in the Sunday Advocate and he’s such a funny guy and his personality is great and to see him in his element – it brought the words he said on paper to life,” Breaux said.
Anders said as king he felt like royalty. The honor was also special to him because it was in his own neighborhood.
“I’ve lived here for some time,” he said. “We have an open house and jambalaya and kegs of beer and the neighborhood would open itself up to the rest of the area.”
The Spanish Town Parade is also as profitable and charitable as it is fun.
From its humble beginnings to now, Childers said the revenue the parade has brought into Baton Rouge is in the million-dollar mark.
Additionally, SPLL divides the proceeds from the parade evenly among the 12 board members to donate to their chosen charities.
“The parade raises money for charities,” Childers said. “We donate probably between $60,000 to $80,000 a year to local charities.”
But what about a New Orleans Mardi Gras?
“Spanish Town is more of a Baton Rouge thing,” Childers explained.
He said floats in Spanish Town are much cheaper to ride than floats in New Orleans.
“It’s for the average person to attend,” he said.
Mardi Gras reached New Orleans in 1699 when explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville landed on ground south of New Orleans. He called the plot “Pointe due Mardi Gras.”
He also established “Fort Louis de la Louisiana” which celebrated Mardi Gras in 1703. Fort Louis de la Louisiana is now Mobile, Ala.
“Mardi Gras has turned into a huge economic generator,” Mary Mouton, the President of Mouton Media in New Orleans, said. “It’s a national and international attraction that has highlighted the rich culture of this city. It has an economic benefit, but also a huge cultural benefit too.”
Mardi Gras’ economic benefit exceeds $1 billion in annual spending, according to mardigrasneworleans.com.
In 2009, the total direct economical impact of Mardi Gras on the New Orleans economy was $145. 7 million, according to a study from Tulane University called “Economic Impact of Mardi Gras Season on the New Economy and the Net Fiscal Benefit of Staging Mardi Gras for the City of New Orleans.”
But perhaps more important is the unseen cultural benefit.
Mouton said she remembers her first Mardi Gras as a 6 year old child hoisted on her father’s shoulders.
“Watching the floats, feeling the drum beat of the bands and the movement of the floats was like a dream,” she said. “I guess it’s the most memorable because I was so small and Mardi Gras is a larger than life experience. The funny thing is that as an adult that perspective still hasn’t changed.”
Breaux said her most memorable Mardi Gras experience was also as a child.
“I was 7 years old in Lafayette which is more of a family experience,” she said. “I got to ride in a parade which was a ton of fun.”
Like Breaux, Mouton’s favorite past King is also a local celebrity: Drew Brees from 2010’s Bacchus Parade.
“Our Super Bowl MVP. Need I say more!?” she joked.
Though Mardi Gras is perhaps the most wonderful time of the year, revelers should heed a few cautionary tips.
Plastic babies hidden inside King Cakes can be choking hazards. Also, whoever finds the baby must purchase the next King Cake.
Secondly, tit for tat isn’t always the case when it comes to beads.
“Women taking off their shirts for beads,” Moutin began, “Sorry, but I’m going to need a lot more than a pair of beads to do something like that!”
Childers said one of his concerns was the lack of metal barriers at the Spanish Town Parade.
“We don’t have enough to line the entire parade route,” he said.
Childers said he frequently sees people, especially children, running into the streets to catch beads.
“The thing I’d like them keeping in mind is that it’s just beads,” he said. “Don’t risk life and limb.”
Also, be aware of the surroundings and considerate of others. Mardi Gras parades or events are typically very crowded so expect a couple mishaps, such as someone stepping on feet or spilling a drink. Most likely it’s an accident so don’t let a minor mishap spoil the fun.
And whether you celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Baton Rouge, you’re sure to have a great time. Remember to beware the plastic babies when inhaling King Cake and enjoy the beads and booze.
The Spanish Town Parade will occur this Saturday, March 5 beginning at noon.
