MOBILE, Ala. -- Do you have piles of Mardi Gras beads that you're itching to get rid of?
The Times-Picayune shot last week's Krewe of Endymion parade in New Orleans, one of the city's three "super krewes" parades that rolls during Carnival.
Endymion gets its name from the like-named figure of Greek mythology, the most handsome of men and the god of youth and fertility. First parading in 1967, Endymion quickly emerged as one of Carnival's 'Super-Krewes' in 1974 with the inclusion of more floats and celebrity guests. Parades feature some of the largest floats as well as famous faces of movies, music and television. Past Grand Marshals include the likes of Bobby Vinton, Chuck Norris and Britney Spears.
As the last Mardi Gras parade rolled past Tuesday night, two shots rang out above the din. And chaos erupted in the downtown McDonald's parking lot.
"We salute the Sunday Press-Register: $2.00," proclaimed the Cowboys. "Now it costs more than the mullet you wrap it in."
Bristling with bulging bags of teddy bears and other throws, the floats of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association glided up the boulevard like festive men-o-war, heavily armed and crewed by grinning maskers.
MOBILE, Ala. -- On a crisp, clear Mardi Gras day in downtown Mobile, throngs of revelers partied in the streets, clapped and swayed to marching bands and truck bands, and yelled for beads, Moonpies and doubloons as colorful floats rolled by.
The Comic Cowboys' parade serves as Mardi Gras' satirical showcase, with the riders taking swipes at national and local figures (and a certain hyphenated Mobile-based newspaper).
On a cold, bright Mardi Gras day in downtown Mobile, throngs of revelers partied in the streets, clapped and swayed to marching bands and truck bands, and yelled for beads, Moonpies and doubloons as colorful floats rolled by.
Police estimated that 24,863 people watched the Infant Mystics roll downtown Monday night with the theme "Cats Love the Night Life," featuring everything from "Cats Love Night Howlers and Prowlers" to "Cats on Election Night" and "Cats love their Infant Mystics Knights."
Police estimated that 24,863 people watched Monday night as the Infant Mystics rolled through downtown with the theme "Cats Love the Night Life," featuring everything from "Cats Love Night Howlers and Prowlers" to "Cats on Election Night" and "Cats love their Infant Mystics Knights."
View full sizeG.M. Andrews/Staff PhotographerA masker aboard an Infant Mystics float tosses beads to the crowd gathered along Royal Street in downtown Mobile on Monday night as the mystic society made its annual Carnival procession. The IMs paraded under the theme, "Cats Love the Night Life."MOBILE, Ala. -- For feline lover Catie Maurin, Monday night's Infant Mystics parade was the cat's meow.
"I thought it was kind of cute," the 11-year-old UMS-Wright Preparatory School student said, adding that it was different than other parade themes she had seen so far this Mardi Gras season.
While she didn't like trying to dodge getting hit by the bags of candy revelers were dumping on her family, she didn't mind walking away from the parade with a lot of loot. Her father, Richard Maurin, was particularly happy with one catch -- Twixels -- cookie sticks made by the maker of Twix bars, a new idea for his candy pantry at home.
Police estimated that 24,863 people watched the Infant Mystics roll downtown with the theme "Cats Love the Night Life," featuring everything from "Cats Love Night Howlers and Prowlers" to "Cats on Election Night" and "Cats love their Infant Mystics Knights."
According to the National Weather Service, the temperature was 46 degrees as the IMs started rolling downtown. By the time it ended, the temperatures had fallen three degrees.
Portions of Royal Street were sparse along the parade route as a slight wind made the temperatures feel colder. The most popular ride on the street was the man yelling "Hot chocolate" to the crowds as he rolled his cart along the parade route selling $2 cups of the hot beverage.
Best Float: Tie between "Cats Love Friday Night Lights" and "Cats Love Election Night." The Friday lights float featured logos from area high school football teams, including Blount, UMS and Murphy, with maskers dressed in black and white striped uniforms as referees. There were no "boos" from the crowd for these refs. There didn't appear to be any partisan politics aboard the election float, either, which featured a large donkey and elephant. Both sides were partying hard on this ride.
Best marching band: With their high-stepping majorettes, who braved the cold weather in their sleeveless one-piece gold-sequined leotards, the Selma High School Marching Band fired up the crowd with their rocking tunes and marching precision. In a year when the Saints rule, these Selma marching Saints, with gold fleur de lis embroidered on the back of their uniforms, were winners with the crowd.
Stingy or Generous: Generous, considering the floats were almost keeping pace with drivers in Sunday's Daytona 500 race.
Best throw: A giant stuffed Tigger. It was so big, the masker, who enjoyed taunting the crowd before tossing it, could barely wrap both hands around Pooh's furry friend.
Best headdress: Jessica Browder's Mardi Gras dragon mask. The 17-year-old hasn't missed a Mardi Gras parade in four years without her ghoulish-looking, gray rubber dragon head with long silver hair adorning her head. She adorns it with different Mardi Gras beads every parade. It's her good luck charm, said Browder, who attracts attention from maskers on the float using her mask for target practice.
By late afternoon, a trilogy of parades made its way down Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Mobile, highlighted by visiting college bands from, among other schools, Alabama A&M University and Tuskegee University.
This past fall, before any Saints fan could even imagine that the team would make it to Super Bowl XLIV -- let alone win it -- the Cains got an important phone call. A New Orleans costume designer asked them to make Brees a crown for Bacchus, a large parade that rolled on Sunday.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- Weather postponed one mystic society's plans by a day, but 11 Baldwin parades still rolled this weekend from Bay Minette to Orange Beach.
On Friday, the Mystic Order of Persephone took to the streets of Daphne, while the Maids of Jubilee rolled in Fairhope.
With thumping disco music and enough spectacle to suit their theme, "Le Cirque Du MOJ," the Maids of Jubilee rolled their 22nd annual parade through the cold streets of downtown Fairhope on Friday night.
Aside from its nine circus-themed floats, the procession included a pair of rolling dance stages mounted with multicolored lights and speakers blaring techno and rap. Among the rave-style dancers was a pair dressed as the Planters Nuts mascot Mr. Peanut.
Organizers had nearly called off the parade early Friday because the forecast called for an inch of snow. But Fairhope only received a short burst of the fluffy stuff late Friday morning, and the maids rolled at 6:45 p.m. sharp as planned.
In the absence of frozen precipitation, the MOJ ladies pounded the crowd with a blizzard of beads, Moon Pies, stuffed animals, plastic cups, coins and other Mardi Gras staples.
They also tossed a generous portion of circus-themed throws like bags of peanuts and animal crackers, and there were tons of plush animals of the kind a boy might win for his girl at a carnival stall.
"We were dodging things. It was a flood of stuff," said Katina Brewer of Fairhope. After the parade, her neck was piled with beads as she struggled to hold onto loads of plush animals, including three monkeys and a caterpillar at least 6 feet long.
She stood with a few friends, two of whom knelt on the ground looking at the large cache of loot they'd accumulated. One of them was Lisa Jones, who said she and her husband were visiting Fairhope from Keller, Texas.
"I've never actually been to a Mardi Gras parade before. This was a great first experience," Jones said.
Silvery streamers tossed from wands by many revelers shimmered dazzlingly in the cold, harsh wind over the parade.
Among the floats were "The Amazing Alexandria," fronted by the figure of a psychic gypsy with a crystal ball on a table. "Lions, Tigers and Bears" featured a tiger jumping through a flaming hoop. "Elephant Walk" bore a life-sized, realistic elephant with a pair of ivory tusks.
On Saturday, the Shadow Barons rolled in Daphne, also with a circus theme, The Greatest Show on the Shore. Some of the MOJ floats were featured in the Daphne parade, but the Barons also showcased a new krewe float with the pirate ship Tetis and their emblem float featuring red-cloaked Baron de Feriet, and a cannon firing clouds of dry ice.
For Amy Tosey, who was visiting from Birmingham, the parade was her first Mardi Gras experience.
"It was wonderful, a friendly, family atmosphere," she said. "Lots of beads being thrown at my head. It was great."
Daphne police did not have a crowd count, but a large audience could be seen lining U.S. 98 in the clear, cold weather.
On at least one point on the parade route, the Barons tossed beads, cups, Moon Pies and doubloons faster than the crowds could scoop up the throws.
Wearing his death's head mask, Baron de Feriet was even seen to pluck a skull decorating his float and toss it into the crowd along Scenic 98.
Other parades Saturday included Foley's Krewe of Les Beau Geste, Elberta Mardi Gras Parade, Krewe of Mullet Mates at Pelican Point and Mystic Revelers in Bay Minette. On Sunday, the Bon Secour Boat Parade took place on the Bon Secour River and the Loyal Order of the Firetruck rolled through downtown Daphne.
Parades continue tonight with the Order of Mystic Magnolias in Fairhope.
NEW ORLEANS -- One of the most accurate arms in the NFL had no trouble finding receivers Sunday night.
Thousands lined the streets to catch small, foam footballs thrown by Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees while he served as monarch of Bacchus, one of the biggest parades of the Carnival season that culminates in Mardi Gras.
The New Orleans Saints quarterback threw 10,000 black and gold footballs, along with the usual beads and doubloons, from his perch atop the float that was desined to look like a Roman chariot. Brees dressed as the Roman god of wine in a short gold and red tunic, gold boots and cape and a crown of gold grape leaves.
A cadre of police officers and parade officials had to accompany Brees from the limo that dropped him off at his float. He was accompanied by his wife, Brittany, who wore a white gown and gold crown. An eager crowd chanted his name and the familiar "Who Dat" cry of Saints fans.
The usual Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold were replaced along the parade route with the black and gold of the Saints jerseys worn by thousands.
"I missed the Saints parade," said Henry Exterstern, 50, of New Orleans. "No way I was going to miss him this time."
It was the second parade this week for Brees, after the Super Bowl victory parade Tuesday that celebrated the Saints' win over the Indianapolis Colts a week ago.
Sunday's parade appeared to get an attendance boost from the presence of Brees.
"This is a mad house," said Jennifer LeBlanc, 34, who said she sees the parade every year. "This is the biggest crowd I've ever seen. And every one is having a great time."
Brees began throwing the beads and footballs as soon as he boarded the float, giving a thumbs up to people who caught them.
As the float began to move, Brees took the microphone and chanted, "Who Dat, Who Dat."
"We love you New Orleans," he shouted. "Hail Bacchus."
The final weekend of Carnival saw dozens of parades roll throughout the New Orleans area. Another huge parade, Orpheus, is scheduled for Monday. More parades will roll on Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, when businesses will also be closed and the French Quarter and the parade routes will be crowded with revelers.
It all comes to a close at midnight Tuesday as police clear Bourbon Street and the heavily Catholic city welcomes Lent.
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- The Order of Miriams postponed their parade scheduled for tonight and will parade Saturday.
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Escambia (Fla.) County sheriff's officials say that they will be strictly enforcing a ban on alcohol consumption in public parking lots when the Krewe of Wrecks Mardi Gras parade rolls this Sunday.
An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 revelers are expected for the parade featuring as many as 45 floats.
HOUMA, La. -- A captain with the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car while escorting a Mardi Gras float.
An insurance company for the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association has asked a federal judge in Mobile to rule that it is not obligated to defend the organization from an expected lawsuit over an accident that cost a rider his right eye last year.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- Fairhope police anounced a list of streets that will be closed along parade routes during Mardi Gras season, including for tonight's Knights of Ecor Rouge parade. Road closures are temporary measures to secure the parade route.
Parade spectators reach for throws on a Fairhope street during a previous Carnival season.FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- Fairhope police anounced a list of streets that will be closed along parade routes during Mardi Gras season. Road closures are temporary measures to secure the parade route.
Three parades will take place in Fairhope during the Carnival season. The Knights of Ecor Rouge will parade today. The Maids of Jubilee parade is Feb. 12 and the Order of Mystic Magnolias parade is Feb. 15. Parades are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., according to Fairhope police.
The following streets comprise the parade route:
The floats will load in the area of the Fairhope Civic Center, primarily on Oak Street. The parade will proceed south on Section Street to Morphy Avenue; turn right, traveling west on Morphy Avenue to Church Street; turn right, traveling north on Church Street to Fairhope Avenue; turn right, traveling east on Fairhope Avenue to Bancroft Street; turn left, traveling north on Bancroft Street to Magnolia Avenue; turn left, traveling west on Magnolia Avenue to Church Street; turn left, traveling south on Church Street to Morphy Avenue; turn left, traveling east on Morphy Avenue to Section Street; and turn left on Section Street, traveling north to the end of the parade route at the Civic Center.
The streets that are on the parade route will be closed at 5 p.m. on parade days. "No Parking- Tow Away" signs will be posted along the parade route the day of the parade as well. Vehicles on the parade route, in violation of posted signs, are subject to towing after 5 p.m., according to a police statement. Towing is only enforced on the actual parade route so that parked vehicles don't interfere with float passage.
Barricades will also be used to block vehicle traffic from interfering with the parades. Barricades will be placed at 5 p.m. on parade days to re-direct traffic around the downtown area streets that comprise the parade route. The barricades will be removed after city crews have cleaned debris left after the parades. Barricades will be placed on Section Street at Bayou Drive, Section Street at Fels Avenue, Magnolia Avenue at Summit Street, Magnolia Avenue at School Street, Morphy Avenue at School Street, Morphy Avenue at Summit Street, Fairhope Avenue at School Street, Fairhope Avenue at Summit Street, Bancroft Street at Morphy Avenue, Bancroft Avenue at Bayou Drive, Church Street at Oak Street, and Church Street and Fes Avenue.
Police are asking motorists to plan their routes to avoid unnecessary inconveniences caused by road closures.
If Mardi Gras organizations were athletes, the Order of Isis would be the powerful rookie who's clearly on steroids.
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- Bad weather last weekend forced a truncated Mardi Gras schedule on Dauphin Island, with both of the community's Carnival parades jammed into one Saturday.
From all indications, the Tillman's Tricksters Mardi Gras society will not parade this year. As of late last week, the organization with 16 processions under its belt had not turned in an application for a 2010 parade permit to the Mobile Police Department.
Traffic on northbound Alabama 193 is snarled from the center of the island well onto the Mobile County mainland this afternon, Dauphin Island police reported.
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- Traffic on northbound Alabama 193 is snarled from the center of the island well onto the Mobile County mainland this afternon, Dauphin Island police reported.
A police dispatcher said hundreds of people were still stuck in traffic trying to get off the island as of 5 p.m. The traffic problems were a consequence of heavy attendance at today's two Mardi Gras parades, including one that was postponed from a week ago. The dispatcher said cars were backed up in both directions of Bienville Boulevard leading to Ala. 193 and the bridge off the island.
The dispatcher said traffic was jammed solid all the way north to Ala. 188 at Alabama Port, which is nine miles north of the island's water tower. More problems were reported further north where Ala. 193 turns west at Laurendine Road, she said.
Interim Chief Lester Hargrove said about 80 officers who normally work traffic and specialized details will come into work five hours later than usual on parade days.
In colorful sweater and beige shorts, the 6-foot-6 inch, 270-pound athlete was in vacation mode, home with family after football season's close, turning his attention to a different season -- Mardi Gras.
As many as 350 of the 1,200 spaces at the Mobile Civic Center could be barred from use by the public because they are reserved for overflow parking for the cruise ship.
A relentless winter rainstorm today caused the postponement of the seasons first Mardi Gras parade.
It's a good bet that more people than usual around here will be parked in front of their TV sets for the Super Bowl if the New Orleans Saints defy history and pretty much the natural order of things and make it to the big game. That is, except for two intrepid Mardi Gras groups -- both of them female -- who intend to parade through the streets of Mobile, as scheduled, starting about an hour after the Super Bowl kicks off.
Because of heavy overseas deployment, no military vessel is scheduled to dock for this year's Mardi Gras, said Robert Edington, the Mobile Carnival Association chairman of the naval ships visit committee. U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessels and their crews have made Mobile's Mardi Gras a liberty call every year since 1898, except during World War I and World War II.
MOBILE, Ala. -- A.J. Bordelon was the kind of man who built a camper on the back of a truck so that he and his wife, Opal, would have a place to sleep when they visited Alaska the year it became a state.
Before a crowd estimated by police at 4,000 gathered in windy, freezing conditions, the 20 floats and 10 bands that made up Tuesday night's Greer's Food Tiger/GMAC Bowl Mardi Gras brought a hint of warmth to those huddled against chilly barricades in downtown Mobile.
John David Mercer/Staff PhotographerA masker throws trinkets and other Carnival goodies to the crowd gathered along Royal Street downtown for Tuesday night's Greer's Food Tiger/GMAC Bowl Mardi Gras Parade. The annual event offers a little bit of Mobile's Mardi Gras flavor to out-of-town visitors here for the GMAC Bowl.MOBILE, Ala. -- The weather may have been more suited to the glacial plains around Mount Pleasant, Mich., but it didn't matter to the crowds once the Greer's Food Tiger/GMAC Bowl Mardi Gras Parade took to the streets Tuesday night.
Before a crowd estimated by police at 4,000 gathered in windy, freezing conditions, the 20 floats and 10 bands brought a hint of warmth to those huddled against chilly barricades in downtown Mobile.
The narrow downtown thoroughfares like Royal Street, with ample protection from the wind, proved a popular spot, and fans of both Central Michigan and Troy universities joined locals in the scramble for parade throws.
Most of the parade-watchers appeared concentrated in the hotel district, police spokesman Officer Christopher Levy said.
John Nutzmann, a retired high school teacher from Mount Morris, Mich., near Flint, drove the 1,000 miles to Mobile to watch the Central Michigan Chippewas in tonight's GMAC Bowl game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
He followed the weather reports and was able to dress accordingly.
"I did expect warmer, but it's a lot warmer than home," Nutzmann said. "It was 19 when I left."
A 30-year season ticket holder for the Chippewas, Nutzmann downplayed whether the cold would help his favorites. "As long as it's dry, it shouldn't make any difference," he said.
Troy follower Mike Culpepper, who lives near Troy but is not an alumnus, said, "We were not expecting this at all" when he learned his Trojans would get to play in Mobile. He said he expects there would be a large number of people from Troy at the stadium tonight.
Bill Goodloe, of Oakland Township, Mich., said, "It would have been worse if it had been raining. Cold is OK, but cold and raining is not." Goodloe, a CMU fan, said he planned to visit the Battleship USS Alabama during the daytime today before the game.
Many in the crowd wore colors advocating other gridiron dreams. Alabama Crimson Tide attire was everywhere, and many people wore New Orleans Saints black and gold.
Crimson Tide follower Dion Carerra of Mobile said he might attend tonight's game, but his plans for Thursday's BCS national championship game are set -- he plans to watch the game against Texas with a group of friends, all fellow Tide supporters.
Many of Mobile's Mardi Gras marching societies were represented in the parade. Two train floats pleased the crowd-- the Conde Cavaliers' train and the Mystic Stripers' circus train. Floats representing the Mobile Mystics, Pharaohs, Order of Venus, Neptune's Daughters, the Stripers, Mystics of Time, Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association and the Mystic Order of Moon Pie rolled.
Both universities' marching bands performed, as did many high school bands. Two -- LeFlore and Williamson -- were already in mid-Carnival form, with LeFlore's drum majors spending much of the parade airborne and Williamson's marchers dancing backward along parts of the route.
Alma Bryant, Vigor and B.C. Rain sent their high school bands, and the James M. Seals Mighty Marching Tigers also performed.
Nutzmann held out optimism over the Chippewas' prospects tonight. "I'll take (quarterback) Dan LeFevour having a Tim Tebow-type night," he said, referring to the Florida quarterback's Sugar Bowl performance against Cincinnati last Friday.
Mayor Sam Jones said Wednesday that he was confident the building's owners would stabilize the façade in time to open the street to traffic, allowing parade floats to pass. The sidewalk beneath the building will remain closed, Jones said.
First observed in Mobile in 1703, this coming Fat Tuesday will be celebrated Feb. 16. "Hopefully, people will celebrate more than ever," said Stephen Toomey, owner of Toomey's Mardi Gras. "I think they look to Mardi Gras as an outlet to have some fun and put smiles on people's faces."
MOBILE, Ala. -- When the renovations are complete, the 34-story former AmSouth building will be a tribute to Mobile's famous party of parades -- Mardi Gras.
The office building at 107 St. Francis St. has been dubbed the GM building by David Bronner, chief of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which purchased the building last February for $6.75 million.
Rather than "MG" for Mardi Gras, owners went with the reverse. Interior dþcor in the public spaces will salute the purple, green and gold colors of Mardi Gras.
"Dr. Bronner wanted to purchase the building and renovate it for the people of Mobile," said architect Tracy Bassett of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood's Montgomery office.
"He wants it to be a building that Mobile will be proud of, and one of the things that Mobile is known for is Mardi Gras."
RSA plans to invest millions in renovating and updating the circa 1965 structure, which still has many of the original air conditioning and heating fixtures, according to RSA officials.
The project should be finished by March 2011, according to Steven Timms, director of construction development for RSA.
Repairs to the 480-space parking garage are almost complete, with interior work starting this month on vacant floors in the building, according to Joe Toole, leasing agent for RSA.
The building is about 50 percent leased. Existing tenants will have to move only once; as each floor is finished, the tenants will be moved to new space, he said.
The private Bienville Club will be renovated and remain on the top floor.
Lease rates at the GM building should range from $15 to $17 per square foot, according to Toole.
"The AmSouth is a C building, and after renovations it will be a B-plus," said John Toomey of Toomey & Co. He managed the AmSouth building for years and is working with prospective tenants for the GM. "You can never become Class A unless you build brand-new and look like RSA's tower, which is an incredibly great building," he said.
RSA's Battle House Tower offers Class A
office space at rents averaging $24 per square foot, Toole said. About 80 percent of the tower space is leased, he said.
RSA funded the
$200 million Battle House Tower and adjacent 238-room Battle House Hotel project off Royal and Dauphin streets, which opened in May 2007. It paid $11.8 million for the nearby Riverview Renaissance Hotel, then spent $60 million on renovations.
To modernize the GM building, all windows will be replaced with longer versions featuring a blue mirror tint, according to Bassett, who has worked on many RSA projects here and around the state. His firm has an office in the Battle House Tower.
Like the Battle House Tower, the GM will feature a colorful light show on the building at night, but the GM's will be in Mardi Gras colors.
"The building needed something to liven it up, and we're taking advantage of the color and light and trying to introduce the colors throughout the main lobby of the building," Bassett said. The architects will work with Mobile's Mardi Gras Museum to find art work or photographs that can be tied into the dþcor.
The exterior entrances will feature mesh screens that resemble ribbons or streamers in honor of the parade season.
Both the Battle House Tower and the Riverview feature custom-designed spires on the top -- an RSA trademark in downtown Mobile.
No spire, but there will be some surprises to come on the GM building's final look, according to Toole.
Architect Tracy Bassett of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, stands in front of the former AmSouth building downtown. He and his staff have designed the renovations for the 34-story building, which is now called the GM building. Interior dþcor in the public spaces will reflect the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. Bassett said David Bronner, head of the building's new owner, Retirement Systems of Alabama, "wants it to be a building that Mobile will be proud of, and one of the things that Mobile is known for is Mardi Gras."
MOBILE, Ala. -- Joseph William McCray Jr., a former president of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, died May 30 at a local hospital. He was 71.
McCray had worked for the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission Area Agency on Aging, where he spent many years as nutrition coordinator. He was instrumental in the development and operation of nutrition centers for the elderly in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties. He was director of the U.J. Robinson Memorial Adult Day Care Center, and had also been the District 2 commissioner for Mobiles Human Relations Commission.
He joined MAMGA in the early 1970s and served from 1992 to 1996 as its third president.
Services will take place Saturday at Prince of Peace Catholic Church with Hodge's Chapel directing.
(For a complete obituary, read Thursday's Press-Register.)
MOBILE, Ala. - Who says girls can't throw? The Order of Polka Dots, Mobile's first all-female parading group, rolled out "Sixty Years of Broadway" the night of Feb. 12. Order of Polka Dots 2009
MOBILE, Ala. - Who says girls can't throw? The Order of Polka Dots, Mobile's first all-female parading group, rolled out "Sixty Years of Broadway" the night of Feb. 12.
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- The Island Mystics Mardi Gras parade on Dauphin Island will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31. The parade will start at the Sea Lab on the island's east end and travel west down Bienville Boulevard to Dauphin Island Elementary School before disbanding. For more South Mobile County news, visit http://www.al.com/news/press-register/neighbors.ssf
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- The Island Mystics Mardi Gras parade on Dauphin Island will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31. The parade will start at the Sea Lab on the island's east end and travel west down Bienville Boulevard to Dauphin Island Elementary School before disbanding.
For more South Mobile County news, visit http://www.al.com/news/press-register/neighbors.ssf
MOBILE, Ala. - "The Order of Myths," Margaret Brown's documentary about Mardi Gras in Mobile, has been nominated for four 2009 Cinema Eye Honors awards. The award nominations were announced this week in Park City, Utah, where the native Mobilian's feature-length examination of race and Carnival premiered a year ago at the famed Sundance Film Festival. The Cinema Eye Honors...
MOBILE, Ala. - "The Order of Myths," Margaret Brown's documentary about Mardi Gras in Mobile, has been nominated for four 2009 Cinema Eye Honors awards.
The award nominations were announced this week in Park City, Utah, where the native Mobilian's feature-length examination of race and Carnival premiered a year ago at the famed Sundance Film Festival. The Cinema Eye Honors recognize excellence in nonfiction filmmaking.
Awards will be given on March 29 in New York at the New York Times Center in Times Square.
"The Order of Myths" was nominated in the categories of Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for director of photography Michael Simmonds' work and Outstanding Achievement in Editing for work by Michael Taylor, Brown and Geoffrey Richman.
The other films nominated in the top category are "Waltz With Bashir,""My Winnipeg," "Man on Wire" and "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."
(For a complete report, see Thursday's Press-Register.)
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- The first Mardi Gras parade of the season will be presented by Dauphin Island's Krewe De La Dauphine on Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. The parade will begin at Dauphin Island Sea Lab and travel west along Bienville Boulevard to the Little Red Schoolhouse. The parade consists of 44 units following the theme of "The Signs...
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- The first Mardi Gras parade of the season will be presented by Dauphin Island's Krewe De La Dauphine on Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. The parade will begin at Dauphin Island Sea Lab and travel west along Bienville Boulevard to the Little Red Schoolhouse.
The parade consists of 44 units following the theme of "The Signs of the Times," and, said Wanda Geno, spokeswoman for KDLD. Floats will represent such eras as the Roaring 20s, World War II and the disco era, among others.
The Abba Shriners will be a part of the parade, as will the Kickin' Canes dancers of Alma Bryant High School, the Bay City Brass Band and the Olympia Brass Band. Grand marshal will be Jon Lieber of the Chicago Cubs.
For information, call Wanda Geno at 209-2429.
(For more Mobile County news, visit http://www.al.com/news/press-register/neighbors.ssf)
Mobile, Ala. - Robert C. Petty Sr., the senior member of the Excelsior Band, died Saturday at the age of 90. The Excelsior Band has been performing in local Mardi Gras parades for well over 100 years, and Petty, a native and resident of Mobile, spent more than 50 years of his life as a member of that organization and...
Mobile, Ala. - Robert C. Petty Sr., the senior member of the Excelsior Band, died Saturday at the age of 90.
The Excelsior Band has been performing in local Mardi Gras parades for well over 100 years, and Petty, a native and resident of Mobile, spent more than 50 years of his life as a member of that organization and served as leader of the band for a time many years ago.
The funeral is scheduled for Friday.
(For a complete obituary, see Wednesday's Press-Register.)
MOBILE, Ala. -- Last year's documentary about Mardi Gras in Mobile, "The Order of Myths," will be available on DVD beginning next week. The 80-minute film by native Mobilian Margaret Brown, which touched on sensitive nerves in Mobile and opened eyes around the country for its focus on the racially divided Carnival celebrations in the filmmaker's hometown, is being released...
MOBILE, Ala. -- Last year's documentary about Mardi Gras in Mobile, "The Order of Myths," will be available on DVD beginning next week.
The 80-minute film by native Mobilian Margaret Brown, which touched on sensitive nerves in Mobile and opened eyes around the country for its focus on the racially divided Carnival celebrations in the filmmaker's hometown, is being released on the home video format on Tuesday, Jan. 13, by New Yorker Films and The Cinema Guild.
The single-disc edition, with a $29.95 list price, will boast a number of bonus-content special features. Among the extras that will accompany the documentary will be a full-length audio commentary track by Brown and cinematographer Michael Simmonds, who documented Mardi Gras celebrations and behind-the-scenes preparations in Mobile in 2007.
The DVD also will showcase previously unseen deleted scenes, as well as the theatrical trailer and footage from the film's Mobile premiere.
(For more details, see Tuesday's Press-Register.)
Less than a week after New Year's Eve revelers crowded downtown Mobile, the city will be the scene of another party tonight when the Greer's Food Tiger GMAC Bowl Mardi Gras Parade rolls at 6:30. The parade will use a modified Route A and feature 20 floats -- all the emblem floats of Mobile's parading mystic societies. Also taking...
The parade will use a modified Route A and feature 20 floats -- all the emblem floats of Mobile's parading mystic societies.
Also taking part will be marching bands and cheerleaders of the participating universities, and several local marching bands.
The annual parade is one of the city's largest, said Julie Jeter with the GMAC Bowl. "It's going to be the same wonderful parade that it has been in the last nine years. It's going to be great, and we're really looking forward to it."
A fireworks show and pep rally will follow at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center and Cooper Riverside Park in downtown. The fireworks show will begin at 8:30 p.m., followed by live music from the band Power House.
U.S. Army Col. Danny Speigner is this year's grand marshal.
"I'm a little surprised and quite humbled and honored to be selected," Speigner said Friday, adding jokingly, "There are some things I need to learn to do, like how to wave. Usually in a parade I'm either marching or riding in a tank."
The GMAC Bowl, which features the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma and Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., will kick off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Speigner said that he will also conduct a re-enlistment ceremony of 40 soldiers prior to the national anthem at the game.
A shuttle service will be available for both tonight's parade and Tuesday night's game, at a cost of $5 per person round trip. The shuttle will run from 2 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., with pick-ups every 30 minutes. Shuttle stops will include Ashbury Suites, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Hampton Inn and Suites, all along the Beltine of Interstate 65; the Mobile Marriott on Bel Air Boulevard; and Hank Aaron Stadium.
Complete coverage of Mobile's Mardi Gras season
MOBILE, Ala. -- "The Order of Myths," filmmaker Margaret Brown's feature-length documentary about Mardi Gras in Mobile, has been nominated for two Spirit Awards by Film Independent, a nonprofit organization dedicated to independent film. Brown's film -- which has a focus on the racially divided Mardi Gras celebrations in her hometown -- was nominated in the best documentary category...
Brown's film -- which has a focus on the racially divided Mardi Gras celebrations in her hometown -- was nominated in the best documentary category and the filmmaker was also nominated for the organization's Lacoste Truer Than Fiction Award.
News of the nominations comes as Brown is readying for a holiday season return to Mobile that will coincide with a run of "The Order of Myths" at the new downtown Crescent Theater. The single-screen art house film venue, which opened this fall at 208 Dauphin St., has booked the documentary for a one-week engagement beginning Friday, Dec. 26, said Crescent proprietor Max Morey.
Brown will attend and answer audience questions during the 6 and 8:30 p.m. screenings on that Friday and on Saturday, Dec. 27, she said.
(For a complete report, see Thursday's Press-Register.)>
Mobilians truly appreciate music, observed Hosea London, leader of the city's famous 10-member marching brass band, the Excelsior Band. "I think they do, probably not as much as musicians think they should, but I think they pretty much do," London said. "They really like the Excelsior Band."
Mobilians truly appreciate music, observed Hosea London, leader of the city's famous 10-member marching brass band, the Excelsior Band.
"I think they do, probably not as much as musicians think they should, but I think they pretty much do," London said. "They really like the Excelsior Band."
Carnival and city leaders and the public will show their appreciation for the Excelsior Band at a church-attire celebration from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday at the Mobile Carnival Museum, at 355 Government St. The occasion -- a free, open-house event for the museum -- marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of the band most identified with Mardi Gras in Mobile.
It will be a "milestone celebration" for the city, said Judi Gulledge, executive director of the Mobile Carnival Association.
"People in Mobile like history, so they really, really like the band and they support the band," said London, a Winterhaven, Fla., native whose own history as a trumpet player in the Excelsior Band goes back to 1977, two years after he moved to Mobile to work for the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
London, now an elementary school music teacher in Moss Point, has been the ensemble's leader for the last several years.
According to popular local lore, the Excelsior Band was founded in 1883 by trumpet player John A. Pope to celebrate the birth of his son, John C. Pope.
Excelsior began marching in Mardi Gras processions in 1884.
Clad in traditional band uniforms during its earliest days and sporting black suits and caps with white shirts for much of its history, the band has marched the streets of downtown Mobile for so long it has become an institution inseparable from Mardi Gras.
But the group is a year-round organization, playing Dixieland and conventional jazz at weddings, receptions, birthday parties, jazz funerals, conventions and other events.
In a typical year, "we will do close to about 300 jobs," London said.
"We work a lot of weekends," he said, "and sometimes we have more than one job on the same day."
The Excelsior Band's full complement of 10 musicians consists of three trumpets, three saxophones, one trombone, a tuba, bass drum and snare drum. The group also performs as a quintet for smaller events.
At any time of the year and especially during the Carnival Season, the band can be heard playing such old favorites as "Margie," "Hello Dolly," "St. Louis Blues," "South Rampart Street Parade" and "When the Saints Go Marching In."
"There is still no written music," said London, who added that the musicians perform so often together that they rarely rehearse as a group. "When a new person comes in we kind of teach them from what we know, and they kind of catch on."
But the band -- with members ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s -- doesn't have to train new personnel all that often.
"Nobody ever leaves," London said. "It's not easy to get a spot in the band."
He said, "At the time I started over 30 years ago I was probably the youngest person in the band. Guys have stayed as long as 50 years, until they have become just unable to perform with the band."
The band's sound is much the same today as it was decades ago, its leader said.
"Some tunes -- like 'When the Saints Go Marching In,' 'Just a Closer Walk with Thee,' 'Margie' -- those have been around since forever," London said. "They are timeless. We've added some new things, like 'Audubon Zoo' and things like that that came from the New Orleans style. But we never get away from what was working 100 years ago."
MOBILE, Ala. -- Alfred Benard Davis Sr., who was a central figure in the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association for many years, died Monday at an area assisted-living facility. He was 91. Davis, a native and resident of Mobile, had been affiliated in various capacities with the organization from the 1930s, when it was incorporated as the Colored Carnival Association....
MOBILE, Ala. -- Alfred Benard Davis Sr., who was a central figure in the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association for many years, died Monday at an area assisted-living facility. He was 91.
Davis, a native and resident of Mobile, had been affiliated in various capacities with the organization from the 1930s, when it was incorporated as the Colored Carnival Association. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
(For a complete obituary, see Thursday's Press-Register.)
Reviews and film festival Q&A sessions following screenings of filmmaker Margaret Brown's documentary "The Order of Myths" have largely concerned themselves with the film's portrayal of Mobile's racially separated Mardi Gras societies and celebrations. The film, which opened in New York today, will premiere in Mobile, Brown's hometown, next week with a screening Thursday at the Saenger Theatre in downtown...
Reviews and film festival Q&A sessions following screenings of filmmaker Margaret Brown's documentary "The Order of Myths" have largely concerned themselves with the film's portrayal of Mobile's racially separated Mardi Gras societies and celebrations.
The film, which opened in New York today, will premiere in Mobile, Brown's hometown, next week with a screening Thursday at the Saenger Theatre in downtown Mobile.
"I didn't have an agenda going in, like this was about race," Brown told the Press-Register. "Things about race definitely rose to the surface in the film. In a way, that is what the film got focused on."
Before embarking on the documentary, Brown said, she actually had planned to make a narrative film set in her hometown -- a partially conceived story about a reluctant Mardi Gras queen.
For research, Brown began interviewing people back home. Soon after, she abandoned the notion of a fictional Mardi Gras story and decided to document the real deal.
"Just the way people talk in Mobile is just so much more interesting than anything I felt I could write or make up," Brown explained.
(For a complete report, see Sunday's Press-Register.)
Despite today's Government Accountability Office ruling against a contract that would bring a major aircraft manufacturing operation to Mobile, the city plans to proceed with a Friday parade celebrating economic advances. City spokeswoman Barbara Drummond said today that while the ruling was a disappointment, organizers had also intended for the parade to celebrate other developments, such as the ThyssenKrupp steel...
Despite today's Government Accountability Office ruling against a contract that would bring a major aircraft manufacturing operation to Mobile, the city plans to proceed with a Friday parade celebrating economic advances.
City spokeswoman Barbara Drummond said today that while the ruling was a disappointment, organizers had also intended for the parade to celebrate other developments, such as the ThyssenKrupp steel mill being built in north Mobile County and expansions of the Austal shipyard.
The Mardi Gras-style parade will start at 6:30 p.m. near the Mobile Civic Center and feature nearly 40 parade units. Drummond said that Airbus and Northrop Grumman Corp. still will be represented in the parade, and that Northrop executive Leroy Barnidge still will ride. Paul Meyer, Northrop's vice president of Air Mobility Systems, was to ride but instead is traveling to Washington, D.C., to address the GAO ruling, Drummond said.
"Mobile is not out of the ball game and we are still proud of the progress that is happening in this city," she said.
Filmmaker Margaret Brown, who came home to document Mardi Gras in Mobile last year, will bring her feature-length documentary film on the subject to a hometown premiere at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, at the Saenger Theatre. "The Order of Myths," Brown's 97-minute examination of the season and how it is celebrated in Mobile, has attracted the notice of...
Filmmaker Margaret Brown, who came home to document Mardi Gras in Mobile last year, will bring her feature-length documentary film on the subject to a hometown premiere at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, at the Saenger Theatre.
"The Order of Myths," Brown's 97-minute examination of the season and how it is celebrated in Mobile, has attracted the notice of reviewers and film festival attendees for its focus on the city's racially separated Mardi Gras societies and celebrations. The film -- which enjoyed a generally well-received world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, earlier this year -- also won the attention of The Cinema Guild, a New York-based film distributor that will put "The Order of Myths" in domestic theaters and eventually on DVD.
Tickets will go on sale Friday for $12 plus a service charge and will be available through the Saenger Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.
Brown, who is based in Austin, Texas, will take part in a question-and-answer session following the Mobile screening, said theater manager Chris Penton.
(For more information, see the report on Thursday's Press-Register.)
A feature-length documentary film about Mardi Gras in Mobile that premiered early this year at the Sundance Film Festival will be distributed in theaters and eventually on DVD by New York-based The Cinema Guild. "The Order of Myths," which was directed by native Mobilian Margaret Brown, may be shown on a big screen in Mobile this summer, according to Ryan...
A feature-length documentary film about Mardi Gras in Mobile that premiered early this year at the Sundance Film Festival will be distributed in theaters and eventually on DVD by New York-based The Cinema Guild.
"The Order of Myths," which was directed by native Mobilian Margaret Brown, may be shown on a big screen in Mobile this summer, according to Ryan Krivoshey, director of distribution for The Cinema Guild.
"We are opening it in New York on July 25," Krivoshey said. "We're opening it in Los Angeles on Aug. 8. We are looking to open it in Mobile right in between those two dates."
Details about a Mobile theatrical engagement and other theatrical screenings have not yet been worked out, but an announcement can be expected soon, Krivoshey said.
Since the January premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, reviews have focused on the film's portrayal of Mobile's racially separated Mardi Gras societies and celebrations.
For more information, see Thursday's Press-Register.
Sparkling beads, hoola hoops, stuffed bears and marshmallow pies flew through the air in downtown Mobile on Tuesday as the lid closed on another Carnival season with thousands packing the parade routes. In Baldwin County, parades in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach drew marchers and floats from all along the coast as well as from Foley and Perdido Key,...
Sparkling beads, hoola hoops, stuffed bears and marshmallow pies flew through the air in downtown Mobile on Tuesday as the lid closed on another Carnival season with thousands packing the parade routes.
In Baldwin County, parades in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach drew marchers and floats from all along the coast as well as from Foley and Perdido Key, Fla. Many took part in both events, rolling in Gulf Shores on Tuesday morning before moving down the beach highway to line up in Orange Beach that afternoon.
Weather: Order of Athena -- It was foggy and about 67 degrees in downtown Mobile when the parade began at 10:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Knights of Revelry -- The temperature rose to 70 degrees in downtown by 1 p.m. with cloudy skies and a haze. The party got warmer.
King Felix -- The short parade rolled just after KOR, with no big change in weather conditions.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach -- Conditions here were windy but warm. The temperature at the start of both parades was 73, according to weather service reports.
Order of Myths -- It was a foggy 67 degrees under overcast skies by the time the Mobile parade rolled at 6:30 p.m., with winds out of the south at 6 mph.
Best float: Athena -- The Ice Princess float featured a figure skater who spun until the beads were gone. It was the best of the "Princess for a Day" themed floats.
KOR -- The "Who's Who?" theme spawned some truly creative floats. Topping the list was "Who Let the Dogs Out." A giant postman, letters in hand, fled from three giant dogs that were foaming at the mouth. The maskers wore the familiar Postal Service blue uniforms.
King Felix -- King Felix III and his queen looked regal atop their perch as the young royal pages with feathered caps helped with the throws. This was the best of the parade's three floats.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach -- Representatives of both parades commented that their floats were getting more sophisticated. The Sirens of the Sea float with mermaid and clam shell was a popular entry, but a float by the "Maidens in Pink Stilettos," with a giant dolphin towing the Confederate submarine Hunley, inspired thoughts such as, "Well, there's something you don't see everyday."
OOM -- Jokers, Jacks & Kings had a devil-may-care, Las Vegas theme.
Best marching band: Athena -- Blowhouse rocked with Mardi Gras season tunes, kicking off a great day of music.
KOR -- Excelsior blasted the best songs along Bienville Square in true Mardi Gras fashion. There was stiff competition from the Jackson-Olin High School marching band with its impressive dancers.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach -- Flomaton High School kicked into a version of "Your Mama Don't Dance (and Your Daddy Don't Rock'n Roll)" with a New Orleans beat.
OOM -- The musicians of the Jackson-Olin marching band kept step -- and the beat -- with two groups of lively dancers, a group in front and a group behind wearing shiny gold-and-green bodysuits.
Best truck band: Athena -- Bud Zepper Blues had a mean harmonica player, wailing blues tunes that didn't make anyone in the crowd sad.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach -- The Hadji Temple Shrine bagpipers, complete with kilts and other regalia, were certainly unusual. And the steel-drum band "Foley Steel" had a sound that caught the spirit of the beach communities.
Stingy or generous: Athena -- The masked ladies were generous, but revelers needed to be close to the barricades to grab their attention.
KOR -- The Knights threw a lot of beads, cups and Moon Pies. A lot.
King Felix -- The royals tried their best, but they were outshined by their predecessors, KOR.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach -- The float riders were very generous, and many crowd members could be seen giving beads and toys to small children who missed out.
OOM -- There were plenty of doubloons and Moon Pies, strawberry in particular.
Best throw: Athena -- Hoola hoops with classic stripes were tossed to more than a few little girls.
KOR -- The Knights threw mostly traditional fare, including whole sacks of fat gold beads.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach -- Stuffed parrots were thrown from the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo float, which included real parrots and other live animals.
OOM -- Most impressive were a string of cantaloupe-sized beads -- that is if the masker on Float Two ever let go of them.
Parade participants least likely to be hassled by the crowd: Two grown wolves, on leashes, walked ahead of the zoo float at Gulf Shores/Orange Beach.
Target your audience: One clever woman on Church Street tapped into the pink and purple princess theme of Athena, attaching a hot pink sign with the words "You Go Girl" onto the end of her rake.
A Shriner in a tiny SUV go-cart tossed a string of beads to a young boy during the Orange Beach parade. The boy missed the catch, which then fell directly into his bag next to the his feet. "I never could do that again," the Shriner yelled to the surprised child.
Bearer of good will: A Mardi Gras veteran at Bienville Square worked hard to get the best throws from the KOR, then promptly draped the beads over the necks of nearby children, surprising and delighting.
A very bad thing to hear yourself saying during Mardi Gras: Has anyone seen my cell phone? I think I dropped it.
