# 7- Mardi Gras Asheville Style

#7- Mardi Gras Asheville Style

   Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and it refers to the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before fasting and the beginning of Lent. These days it is more about various cultures coming together to celebrate the things that make them unique and uniting them under the common theme of people who like to have fun, enjoy each other and have a great time.

   While not observed nationally throughout the US, Asheville does make the most of this holiday. The Mystic Mountain Krewe is an all-volunteer community based organization made up of New Orleans ex-pats, aficionados of that culture, and folks who just LOVE a good party! The mere mention of the words Mardi Gras evoke images of wild parties, beads and chocolate flying through the air as well as people dressed in crazy costumes.

   This year’s theme for our parade is “Homegrown, Fancy and Free.”  From the humble beginnings of the first parade in 2006 with only 75 participants today it has become an all out bash with many elaborately costumed partygoers. Our celebration is all about community and fun. Mystic Mountain Krewe calls themselves an arts and culture group that is dedicated to strengthening community connections by using creativity, frivolity and celebration. Our parade is a zany, irreverent celebration at the end of winter and is family friendly with none of the alcohol or nudity seen in New Orleans. Even though parade day was cold and dreary with over 2 inches of rain earlier in the day, not to mention a dusting of snow, the show went on and many hardy souls came out to participate or to watch.

   With the large number of New Orleans expatriates here we offer a number of events around town from the parade to fundraising balls, restaurant specials and bakeries offering the popular King Cake. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 many New Orleans natives relocated to the Asheville area so we have developed a special affinity for that culture. We may not have voodoo dolls in our gift shops but we have always loved a good party and any excuse to dress up in outrageous costumes! A tragedy may have brought some New Orleans natives to our city but our beautiful mountain scenery and vibrant music and arts culture kept them here and our city is richer for that addition.

   So, Laissez les bon temps rouler, or in English, let the good times roll!

“I have trouble explaining to out-of-towners why people here spend $1,000 to wear a mask so no one knows who they are, and then give away things to people they’ve never met. But I guess it’s an opportunity for everybody to play Santa Claus. That’s at the heart of it.” ~ Arthur Hardy