2/23/2006
Gras Time!
Things have been slow around here at The FYC this week, as most of my thoughts have been leaning towards the upcoming festivities down in St. Lou. It's that time of year, again...Mardi Gras time!
One of the lesser known fact about St Louis is that it is home to the second bigest Mardi Gras celebration in America. That's right, second. Behind only New Orleans in number of revilers, and post-Katrina, many think the Lou may just take home the prize of the biggest gras in the US (is there a prize for that? No? Well, fuck me.)
The Katrina effects should be interesting to observe (at least from a distance and stats-wise) however, as always, the weather will have more of an effect on turn-out than anything else. The forcast? 55 and sunny. Nice.
Saturday is the big party in my old stomping grounds, Soulard. The Lou Gras (inexplicably pronounced "graw-s" by people from Illinois. It's as if we can only use silent "s's" in pronouncing Illinois) is a special experience. There's the obligatory stupid parade (never seen it. I don't care for parades.) and the occasional flashers ("WOOOO! BEEEEEEEEEADS!") but for the most part it's simply 500,000 people wandering around drunk and aimlessly through a neighborhood.
We should be setting up shop early at Dennis Quaid's pad, having a nice little breakfast casserole/keg/gumbolaya/bloody mary bar morning to get things started. And, as for any special occasion, the party can never really start without first hearing Marvin Gaye's rendetion of the National Anthem from the 1983 NBA All-Star game. Goosebump making, it is.
As for myself, I'll probably end up standing in front of The Great Grizzly Bear (a tremendous bar) drinking my face off and listening to St Louis' finest Grateful Dead tribute band, "Jake's Leg" in my drinking suit (drinking suit? Drinking suit.) drunk as a mother-effing skunk.
At least that's what happens every year.
Like clockwork.
Here's hoping for a full Gras report on Tuesday.
Cheers.
