Mardi Gras season opens with gatherings

• By CYNTHIA V. CAMPBELL
• Travel editor
• Published: Jan 4, 2009 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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It’s just days away from Twelfth Night, Tuesday, Jan. 6, the day that signals the beginning of Mardi Gras season in Louisiana. While it may not be the best of times in the United States, you can rest assured that Louisiana residents will put on masks of frivolity and brave the season with traditional feathers and beads.

Arthur Hardy, publisher of the Mardi Gras guide that bears his name, said this year’s carni-val season will have several significant anniversaries “This will be the 100th anniversary of Zulu and the 50th anniversary of Rex throwing out doubloons with the krewe’s name printed on them,” said Hardy.

Hardy said the 2009 Mardi Gras Guide has just come out in New Orleans and will soon be distributed throughout the state.

“This year the guide features a story about Spanish Town Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge,” said Hardy. In addition to arti-cles about Zulu and Rex, travel-ers planning to attend Mardi Gras parades will find sched-ules for more than 50 parades. There’s the story of Sister Olivia Wassmer and how she creates Mardi Gras items that generate funds for projects of the Poor Clare convent. An-other article features the Elks organizations that parade each year and raise funds for nu-merous charities.

It’s the giving side of Mardi Gras that visitors don’t often see. For many, the season is an opportunity to generate some-thing positive for the New Or-leans area.

Hardy is modest about his own contributions. He grew up in New Orleans and at-tended Warren Easton School, which was almost lost following Katrina. “It’s the oldest public school in Louisiana. I got to-gether with 10 men and we turned it into a charter school. It’s now 95 years old. People can learn about it at Warrene-astoncharterfoundation.com.”

Copies of the 2009 Arthur Hardy Mardi Gras Guide from the Web site http://www.mardigrasguide.com. Copies also will be available at book stores and drug stores throughout the state.

Zulu celebrates
The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club in New Orleans, observing its 100th anniversary this year, begins its centennial celebration with a tribute gala Friday, Jan. 9, in the Presbytere on Jackson Square, New Orleans.

The event also marks the opening of a new exhibition, Celebrating 100 years of Zulu 1909-2009, that will be on display throughout 2009 in the Presbytere, a unit of the Louisiana State Museum.

The gala is an annual fundraiser sponsored by the Louisiana Museum Foundation, the Louisiana State Museum and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. It is open to the public. Tickets range from $50 to $250, depending on level of participation. Activities include a patron party, 6:30-8 p.m.; auction, 7:30-10 p.m.; gala, 8-11 p.m.; and awards ceremony presented by Landrieu.

Honored will be families and individuals who have provided special support to Zulu. They include the Hon. Sidney and Mrs. Michaele “Mickey” Barthelemy, the Geddes family, the Glapion family, the Goldring family, the Metoyer family, the Russell family, Karen Noles, Donna Mumfrey-Martin and Sam Rykels.

Gala participants will get a preview of the new Zulu exhibit, which includes dazzling designer gowns and colorful costumes worn by Zulu members, rarely seen vintage artifacts, rare photographs and film footage. While capturing the fun of Zulu, the exhibition also dispels myths and provides the factual story of the organization’s founding and its cultural impact on New Orleans.

For information and gala tickets, visit the Louisiana Museum Foundation Web site, http://www.thelmf.org or call (504) 558-0493.