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Get Away

Easy or not, it's Mardi Gras time

By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE
Published February 23, 2006

With New Orleans still teetering on the brink of exhaustion, the idea of a Mardi Gras parade on Tuesday has caused some sharp tongues to ask how anyone can celebrate in the midst of tragedy.

But fans of the city and its music wonder, how can we not celebrate? Local Fat Tuesday parties will carry on as usual and may be even more spirited this year after Katrina lashed the party epicenter.

If you can't make it to New Orleans, where the parties and parades began last week, local celebrations abound for Fat Tuesday, the last bacchanal before the sacrifice of Lent.

The Dunedin Mardi Gras on Main Street will be bigger than ever, with more than 20 parade floats and lots of beads, said Rose Tucker, owner of Got Wine and Cigars on Main Street, one of the organizers.

"We are celebrating just like every year," Tucker said. "Life is going on, even in New Orleans."

In a bit of irony, the deluge that hit Pinellas County Feb. 3 flooded a popular Cajun restaurant. Water wiped out the dance floor at the Cajun Cafe on the Bayou in Pinellas Park, forcing the cancellation of the band the restaurant had booked for a Mardi Gras party Saturday night.

But the focus there is more on the food than the party, said restaurant manager Rebecca Unwin, so she expects the place to be hopping as usual on Tuesday.

"We've tried to do bands on Mardi Gras before, but people who come to our place aren't partying on a Tuesday night," Unwin said, "and we are just packed all day long."

She sees Mardi Gras as a good sign of life continuing and thinks it can do a lot to bring people back to New Orleans.

"I don't think it's going to be sad; that's not what Mardi Gras is all about," Unwin said. "It's about everyone having a good time and partying before Lent starts."

The good times keep rolling.

Mardi Gras celebrations

* Dunedin's Mardi Gras on Main Street is from 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, with craft vendors, Cajun food for sale and a parade starting at 8 p.m. Music at Pioneer Park starts at 4:30 p.m. with four jazz and zydeco bands paying tribute to New Orleans' music heritage. Call (727) 733-3197.

* Universal Orlando claims to have "the world's biggest Mardi Gras celebration outside of New Orleans" every Saturday through April 22. The Mardi Gras 2006 Concert Series lineup includes LL Cool J on Saturday and Bonnie Raitt on March 4, as well as huge parades, New Orleans-style cuisine and, of course, oodles of beads. Go to ww.universalorlando.com.

* Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Society is holding a Mardi Gras party featuring Jean Kittrell and the St. Louis Rivermen playing the music of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at Banquetmasters, 8100 Park Blvd., St. Petersburg. Tickets are $35, $30 for members, with dinner included. Call (727) 724-3379.

* The Manatee County community of Rubonia throws its annual Rubonia Mardi Gras Parade and Festival on Sunday. About 20,000 people are expected for the 27th annual New Orleans-style street party and parade. Entertainment includes Urban Mystic and others; the parade is at 3 p.m. Mardi Gras events are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Bayshore Road area in Rubonia, south of Interstate 275 and west of U.S. 41, near Palmetto. (941) 746-7470.

[Last modified February 23, 2006, 09:43:32]