European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse By Liz Willen and Greg b. Smith now Layover the years Mardi gras in new Orleans has gotten a bit out of hand. Along with the medieval carnival traditions of balls and parades come thousands of Drunken aging frat boys competing for 10-cent plastic beads during two frenzied weeks of chaos. Although we have a hard time actually admitting we May have outgrown this behaviour we decided last Winter to search for the real Mardi gras the quieter More authentic cajun carnivals and parades far from the big easy madness. It in t at All hard to do. Just Fly into new Orleans and get out As fast As possible. Or better yet Fly to Lafayette or Baton Rouge jump on interstate 10 and travel West into the ancient Miasma of Louisiana through the Spanish Moss and lonely mangrove swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin into the heart of cajun country also called acadian. In this area around Lafayette a medium size City about 131 Miles West of new Orleans cajun towns like Mamou Eunice new Iberia Loreauville Broussard Franklin St. Martinville and grand Marais still hold their own Small town celebrations when Mardi gras time Rolls around. And everyone is Welcome to Community skits masked balls feasts and dances called Fais do do s. By turning our backs on the Long restaurant lines crowded hotels and frenetic party Pace of the carnival in new Orleans we were Able to spend our Days instead driving past sugar Cane farms Rice Plains and bayous in search of More Backwoods celebrations. We spent our evenings eating the Best cajun food on the planet and our nights two stepping to top name cajun and zydeco bands. Parades abound throughout the area in the weeks before Mardi gras literally fat tuesday the Day before lenten fasting starts on Ash wednesday. This year fat tuesday is feb. 23. In new Iberia the Crewe of Andalusia throws an Early evening Parade on main Street this year on feb. 19. Broussard holds a Boudin sausage festival with live bands the week before fat � i k hundreds gather along St. Charles ave. As the Zulu Parade Rolls through the streets of new Orleans. Gras Day itself. In Eunice celebrations Center on the restored Liberty theater. The tiny town of Mamou Home to the famous Fred s lounge where you can catch Donald Thibodeaux and Wilbur comier playing zydeco music saturday mornings at 9, becomes the hottest spot in cajun country on fat tuesday. That s when locals abandon their cars and ride horseback from House to House for the courier do Mardi gras gathering the necessities for a Community feast crawfish Rice Beans okra Chicken and plenty of Beer. Along the Way they might tipple a Dixie brew or two. If you arrange it in Advance you also May get a Chance to ride. In late afternoon everyone assembles for a major dance the Fais do do in the Center of town the Gumbo is conjured the crawfish boiled and the music begins to play Well into the night. By All accounts this is one of the most traditional and oldest rituals in cajun country which was settled in the 1750s by French from the Section of Nova Scotia known As Acadia. The word cajun evolved from Les acadians cajun Mardi gras celebrations Are More family oriented than their new Orleans counterpart with lots of activities for children like the costume workshop at Riidu Tuut Csukai we ivc v.,v. Vermilionville in Lafayette a living history museum tuesday and grand Marais has its own festival on Mardi depicting Early Creole and cajun life. Here visitors can learn to make coned and Flat hats and screen masks for the Many Mardi gras costume parties. The week Long Mardi gras festival in Lafayette offers arts and crafts live music and food and parades through the festival grounds. Lafayette also plays Host to a children s Crewe Parade on feb. 20 this year while acadian Village in Lafayette re enacts a courier do Mardi gras with brightly coloured costumed horsemen and Zagort riders also on feb 20. There Are dozens of Small hotels or bed and breakfast spots throughout cajun country. We spent our entire time at la Maison de t Frere a beautifully restored Chalk White victorian Kjome tucked under the Spanish Moss in Lafayette where we enjoyed the canopied Oak bed and the extraordinary Southern breakfasts not to mention the complementary mint juleps served by Host Peggy Mosely Ort the veranda in the evenings. The Flat swampy Countryside where nearly half the population Speaks French has an astonishingly High concentration of great restaurants and dance Halls. In the Lafayette area there Are dozens of True cajun eateries to satisfy the soul of purists. Acadian is crawfish country and most of the meals feature some version of this Small incredibly Rich red crustacean that resembles lobster. The Best we had was at Hawks a Low Slung cinder Block building somewhere in the Woods South of Eunice pop. 12,479 off state route 367. This place is hard to find so ask for directions Don t be surprised if the answers Are quite vague and go Only if you believe the journey is part of the fun. Hawk s is the kind of place that Back Road mythology is made of. When we finally found a sign that simply said crawfish we knew we had arrived. Hawk s sign glimmered in a Lone spotlight in the shadows of Spanish Moss next to a that looked like a fish hatchery. When we entered we saw a roomful of locals tearing away at pizza pie size platters of spicy deep red boiled crawfish and washing Down plenty of Dixie. We did t even need to see a menu. For More elaborate crawfish creations including crawfish pie Gumbo Fried crawfish or Touffee smothered try Robin s on Highway 352 in Henderson or Randol s at 2320 Kaliste Saloom Road in Lafayette. O 9 i o celebrating Mardi gras far from the madding crowds of new Orleans o o � of o 10 stripes Magazine february 11, 1993
