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Let The Good Times RollIn Southwest LouisianaBy Valerie SummersIt’s like a French island in the Caribbean. The vocabulary of its inhabitants is like none other in these United States. They use a lot of French sounding words and some speak a unique language called Patois. Its counties are called parishes and some of its people are known as Creoles and others, Cajuns. It is our 18th state…..Louisiana, the party state, famous for its southern hospitality, exceptional cuisine, music and Mardi Gras.
We continued on to Lake Charles, where festivities were in high gear with music, food, dancing, exhibits and general merriment. One of most fascinating stops was a guided tour of the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, filled with fantastically imaginative feathered, glittering costumes of past celebrations. The museum, situated in a former high school building, centers a neighborhood of beautifully restored historic homes. And at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, we viewed the works of Louisiana icon Clementine Hunter, an elderly primitive artist who lived on a plantation near Natchitoches.
Late in the afternoon of Fat Tuesday, we joined the Krewe de la Famille for an elaborate barbeque picnic prior to the final parade of the season. Hosts Krewe Captain Anne and husband Lee Monlezun offered an informal history of the Lake Charles celebration and of their krewe whose current theme was Blooming Good Time with lovely ladies garbed in elaborate, flowing, colorful gowns of orange, gold and blue representing various flowers. The traditional colors of Mardi Gras were found everywhere: purple standing for justice, green for faith and gold for power. Then it was our turn to catch the beads as we became part of the five-miles of Mardi Gras celebrants, waving our arms in hopes of collecting an impressive stash of colorful beads during the Krewe of Krewes Parade.
For information: Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau Mardi Gras of Southwest Louisiana Continental Airlines: Photos by Valerie Summers |
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Always fascinated by the celebration of Mardi Gras, but
reticent about diving head first into the world-famous New Orleans festivity, I
headed to the southwest corner of Louisiana. There I explored and participated
in a rural Louisiana celebration in Jeff (Jefferson) Davis parish followed by a
visit to the state’s second largest festival in Lake Charles, Calcasieu parish.
Here, the entire community participates in the celebrations in a friendly,
homey atmosphere. Carnival season begins each year on January 6th and climaxes
with Mardi Gras festivals of all kinds and degrees of elaborateness lasting 10
days and concluding on Fat Tuesday.
My introduction to the rural revelry began at 7:00 am in
the Elton countryside where, I, along with several colleagues, boarded a flat
bed truck, fronted by a quintet of musicians cranking out lively Cajun and
Zydeco music. Just as we departed, Dean Young, a resident in charge of cooking
80 gallons of gumbo later in the day quipped, “You’re in for a hard day. Have a
good time.” It’s a day of abandon and revelry. We rolled along country roads
followed by a group of colorfully costumed, masked men with conical hats on foot
or riding on trucks or on horseback, stopping to visit farms along the way,
playing competitive games, singing, dancing together and participating in a
chicken run. The latter competition, trying to catch a chicken which was set
free from its cage, is a throwback from early days when merrymakers traveled
from farm to farm gathering ingredients for a celebratory gumbo. An integral
part of the festivities included mischievous tricks and consuming lots of
alcoholic beverages together with Jello shots with a kick distributed by
costumed women called “fairies.” The public can view these events next year by
contacting the Tourism Commission at 800-264-5521 or
Back in the town of Jennings, we
visited the Zigler Museum, the W.H. Tupper General Merchandise Museum and
Telephone Museum and the Alligator House. The Zigler Museum, housed in a
colonial-style structure, included a fine arts collection featuring several
famous European and American artists. The museum also displays the largest
private collection of works by William Tolliver and a rotating exhibit of guest
artists A visit to the Tupper Museum takes visitors back in time to an
authentic country store which operated in Jeff Davis Parish from 1910-1949. The
adjoining Telephone Museum offers an interactive learning experience centered
around a number of communication and historical telephone exhibits. The docent
at the small Alligator House made the visit worthwhile with her interesting and
enlightening talk about these reptiles, which are no longer an endangered
species. Three full grown alligators lay motionless in an enclosed pool but
visitors were given the opportunity to hold a rather cute baby alligator. A
tour along Lake Arthur took us past lovely homes facing some of the dreamiest
Louisiana seascapes with its moss-laden trees and a gaggle of geese on the
shore. Later, following a drive on the uninhabited beach of what is known as
the Cajun Riviera, we stopped at Stella’s, an unimpressive eatery from the
outside, which served some of the best crab cakes I have ever eaten. Louisiana
is just full of surprises. 
That evening we boarded a
float laden with the famous beads of Mardi Gras and along with decorated cars
and floats carrying costumed revelers, we drove down the main drag, lined with
what seemed to be every inhabitant in the town who was not riding on a float and
many visitors from other towns. We passed outstretched arms of men, women and
children chanting “throw me some beads” and did our best to oblige. 
There is
always something special going on during festival time and no one seems to ever
get enough beads. One evening a parade of lighted boats cruised the shoreline
of Lake Charles, lined with bead-catching hopefuls. Unlike New Orleans, this
city’s celebration is more family-oriented. A highlight of our visit was
viewing the Mardi Gras Royal Gala held at the Civic Center where theatrical krewes made the magic happen parading with themed glorious, unusual and colorful
costumes rivaling those of Las Vegas shows. The most elaborate revelers made
their entrance at the finale, bringing down the house with eight members of the
theatrical Krewe du Illusions strutting their massive entertainment-themed
costumes, some with head-dresses weighing up to 80 pounds.. 
No story of Mardi Gras would be complete without a mention
of food. Indulging in the regional foods of Louisiana is one reason visitors
flock to this unique section of the country, Mardi Gras or not. Kings Cakes,
debuting each carnival season, come in a variety of flavors and fillings, each
with a traditional tiny plastic baby hidden inside. For the person who gets the
piece with the baby, he or she may be queen or king of the party or may be
responsible for giving the next party. Eating and drinking are an integral part
of Louisiana culture all year ‘round. Indigenous Louisiana favorites which I
feasted on during my stay included yummy gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee, boudin
(Cajun sausage), and succulent crawfish. And you can never get a bad cup of
coffee in this part of the country. One will never go hungry; want for a
friendly face or a celebration in Louisiana where the good time roll.