Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, the last day before the Catholic fast of Lent begins, is next week. It’s become a carnival celebration, a bacchanalia before a month of sacrifice. Tourists have made it a bit crazy on Bourbon Street, with the infamous clamor for women to lift their shirts in trade for bead necklaces, but the locals just go and have a good time, watch the parade floats and the Mardi Gras Indians dance, and try to catch beads thrown from the floats as they go by. I went a few years ago and had a great time. No violence or rowdiness, though I did get flashed once as young men threw beads from the balcony to a woman buying a hotdog from a cart vendor. She must not have been that hungry.
Cajuns celebrate it, but so does everyone else. the holiday is catching hold, with bars around the world having Mardi Gras parties, so the setting is open.
So… let’s write about Mardi Gras. It can be in New Orleans or anywhere it’s celebrated- folks from Louisiana take their heritage all over the planet. Here is the wikipedia page if you have any questions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras
Cue: Write a story set during Mardi Gras (location: open)
Genre: Open
Words: 1000
Deadline: Wed 2/22/12 9PM EST
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