Mardi Gras Indian Sightings

[After that introduction, I was worried I'd start suffering from performance anxiety. It's a good thing that the French Quarter, and Bourbon St. in particular, provide ample topics.]

Yesterday was a normal Saturday night, which by Bourbon St. standards means anything is possible. Out of nowhere, crossing Bourbon at Orleans, were two masking Indian girls with pink feathery costumes leading a second line of people dressed in white. As police cleared the streets, pedestrians were mesmerized by the beat of music and their eyes fixed on the heavily feathered, sequined figures.

This was a real treat for everyone, since after Jazz Fest the Indians are pretty scarce. It seemed the biggest question was not "What’s going on?" or "Who are they?" but "How can they wear that in this heat?"

July in New Orleans can be described very simply: Nasty hot; even cotton sticks to you. I suspect it was a very special occasion for them to lead their group through the Quarter in this heat. The Indians, however, were taking it all in stride dancing to the brass band only a few yards behind. It seemed like they almost forgot the heat index was over 100. It was a good thing that each Indian had an assistant who kept them hydrated and offered the occasional brow wipe.

Making way through the chaos, I quickly snapped a couple of pictures from my trusty camera phone. The motion of the group and my own movement trying to stay ahead of them created a mass of pink and white on my phone's screen. Although the picture wasn’t perfect, it was nice to have even a blurry image to jog my memory.

Remember folks, wherever you go remember to bring a camera with you.

(Also posted to the Bourbon St. Journal at nola.com)