Happy Mardi Gras! Pardi Gras! Fat Tuesday! Carnival!

Mini* Aesthetics put out a challenge to create a scene representing a holiday or observance in the month of February, and I chose MARDI GRAS!  I went to high school in New Orleans and I always looked forward to Mardi Gras!  Even though I've only experienced the G-rated, family version, it was great fun to attend the parades with family and friends.  Some day I plan to get back down there to experience the X R-rated version. :)  We like to attend the Bayou Festival and the Crawfish Festival in Long Beach, CA, during the summer to get a little "Nawlins" flavor.  It's a good time with some great Zydeco bands with a little Zydeco two-steppin', good food and New Orleans steppers dressed in traditional Mard Gras colors (purple, green and gold) that parade around the venue.  We've also gone down to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter a couple of times for their celebration.  Today we're headed to the Farmer's Market in L.A. for their celebration.  

                                                        I love me some Mardi Gras!

  I really don't care to work with assistants because they always have issues, especially these creative types, but what's a float without riders?  So, meet my Krewe:

I know him as Lil Man.  His only concern was that he preferred to wear purple instead of green because green did nothing for his complexion.  Once I explained that I couldn't pull a switch because there wasn't enough green fabric to cover-up Big Boy, he was cool and happy to be there.  Such a sweetheart!

  She calls herself Butterfly (already reason to raise an eyebrow).  Butterfly rocks a tatted, bald head and she didn't want to wear the wig.  It went against her individuality and her creative spirit and she didn't want to look like everyone else... blah, blah, blah!   I told her it was my float, my design, my vision, and my vision had hair in it, lots of hair, dreadlocks!  So she just needed to shut-up, put on  the wig, stand up straight, and just wave and smile... just wave and smile....

OMG!  Big Boy!  Mr. I'm-too-sexy-for-my-shirt clothes!  He wanted to stand on the float (you see how big he is), NUDE, just wearing a hat and a mask!  I flipped!  Are you nuts?!  I told him it wasn't that kind of party and he better pull the stick out of his A BUTT (referring to the stand), sit his A BUTT down, and put some clothes on (you see he conveniently left his pants at home.)  This is what I was workin' with and this is why I don't use assistants!

  HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

from Beany and Richie