C.W. Cannon one of my favorite columnists, talks of our current Carnival period as a golden age with more democratic and satirical characteristics than we experienced in the late 20th century, where whites-only krewes had their way and superfloats flourished which led to the demise of many of the small neighborhood parades. I’ll tell him how much I appreciate this on the downtown parade routes that I am sure to see him on over the next few weeks..
Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin, in a book about folk culture influences on the great Renaissance French writer Rabelais, outlined a theory of Carnival based on ancient and medieval traditions. Centuries later, it’s remarkable to witness how the “carnivalesque” spirit he details lives on so palpably on the other side of the world. A few of the key attributes Bakhtin ascribes to Carnival are a satirical impulse of a bawdy kind that he calls “grotesque realism,” the inversion of normal prevailing social hierarchies, and mass participation.
In light of principles like these, it’s a no-brainer that the latest city ordinance supports, rather than inhibits, the ancient foundations of Carnival tradition. Even here in New Orleans, one of the prevailing social strictures upended by Carnival has been segregation in public settings. Blocking off and segregating swaths of the public space for members-only parties doesn’t jibe with the carnivalesque injunction to cast off social distinctions and rub shoulders with strangers for a limited period of time.
When was Carnival’s golden age? Take a look around — we’re living in it | The Lens.
Holiday parade in French Quarter 2014, captured by Roy Guste
Roy Guste, photographer
Roy Guste, a fixture in the Quarter continues to add amazing images of his place; find them at his gallery downriver or buy online.
The brilliant Fringe Festival has begun on the corner of Dauphine and Press. And although it is not in the Quarter, it’s near and so what’s it to you if I review it here? (Sorry – cocktail hour has been delayed; someone’s a little frayed…)
At that corner, you’ll find the Free-For-All Tent and Fringe headquarters, but to see the over 60 collective artistic expressions known as Fringe, you’ll need to be mobile and able to read a map. The venues for performances that run the gamut from the smutty to the sublime are held in lovely or maybe lowdown places throughout downtown. Running through the weekend, get thee to Press and get your tickets to as many performances as you can stand. Bring a flask, an extra jacket and maybe a flashlight (advice from an annual fester) and expect to be dazzled.
As those who braved the Quarter on Ash Wednesday noticed, the Quarter is amazingly clean after Mardi Gras. The amount of throws that pass through hands and end up on the ground is quite staggering. For locals skilled at catching, how to catch the things and then give away most of them so the beads and stuffed animals don’t weigh down our houses is a deeply admired talent. For tourists, I am sure they don’t know what to do with the majority of their catches, as all of them cannot fit into their luggage! I wish the city would have areas (like the police station on Royal) for people to leave their beads to be later recycled. I am also sure (as an ex-hotel manager) that if the ARC contacted the hotels they could get a truckful on Thursday morning. There is no doubt that my friends at UP/Unique Products
would set something up since they have found many inventive ways to reuse beads in their art. In any case, let’s try to make our Carnival a bit greener.
French Quarter block by block 
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