Mardi Gras in Mississippi - Part 1

Laissez les bons temps rouler! The good times rolled in Gulfport yesterday. The parade held in the Orange grove area is one that I enjoy going to and is very family oriented. The crowd wasn't as big as in previous years, mainly because it was cold. For the Mississippi Coast it was cold. It was in the 50's! Below are some of my favorite pictures. We need these parades. It's a tradition going back many years and a welcome break from the rebuilding and recovery after Hurricane Katrina.







This is the Ole Biloxi Marching Club. The flowers are prized. You have to give a kiss to get one.








This was my favorite float. It managed to have every thing associated with Hurricane Katrina and the days after when we had to wait in line for MRE's, ice, water, and gas. It also had debris from destroyed homes. The blue tarp is what FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers placed on damaged roofs.






The back of the float above. It expresses the sentiments of many along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. No other words are necessary.








After the parade, there's a sense of sadness. You wanted the parade to on longer. The respite was all too brief.








Next week, the Gulfport downtown parade and the D'Iberville parade. Katrina may have taken most of our historical buildings, she may have taken 68,000 homes, and she may have taken 236 Mississippi lives but she did not take the spirit of us that live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Laissez les bons temps rouler!