Mardi Gras Chronicles

The definitive guide to all things Mardi Gras . . . past and present! From Twelfth Night to Ash Wednesday, New Orleans is transformed. Queens and fools, demons and dragons reign over the Crescent City. This vividly photographed book is a lively, comprehensive history of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Fascinating and intimate, this book seamlessly intertwines the past with the present.

Repetition, alliteration, and visual humor abound in this Mardi Gras themed riff on the iconic holiday song, perfect for emerging readers and early counters. As each day of the Mardi Gras season passes, a gift is given. Each of the many, many, many gifts is familiar to those who embrace the season's traditions. Coming in twos, twelves, fives and fours, the gifts include majestic masks, floats a rolling, golden shoes, and cherished cups. Colorful illustrations provide lots of additional hijinks and engagement in this soon-to-be-classic holiday tale!

The glitter and glitz of Mardi Gras in New Orleans draw people in, year after year. Floats, throws, and music all make memories that last a lifetime. In this joyful volume of photographs and essays, renowned photographer Judi Bottoni and Mardi Gras expert Peggy Scott Laborde capture some of the best moments from today’s Mardi Gras celebrations. From the Twelfth Night Revelers heralding the start of Carnival season to Zulu and Rex bringing it to a triumphant close, Mardi Gras Moments highlights what makes the experience unforgettable. Relive scenes and music from famous parades and experience the signature floats that return year after year, including Endymion’s Pontchartrain Beach Float, Orpheus’s Smokey Mary, and Rex’s Boeuf Gras. Celebrities, including Will Ferrell, reign over super-krewes as kings. Women wear the crown in Iris, Nyx, and Muses—known for its coveted shoe throws. The Mardi Gras Indians and the Baby Dolls show off a proud history in costume and dance. The Rolling Elvi and ’tit Rǝx are just some of a wild profusion of show-stopping sub-krewes. The exuberance and thrill of Carnival are on full display in these stunning photographs.

Brandy Alexander. Names for a cold drink and a hot babe. In New Orleans the combination can be dangerous. So with a name like Brandy Alexander - it seems her life's course was already determined. On the day she was born, her father and uncle waited in a bar and decided that Brandy would be a great name for a girl with the last name of Alexander. Her mother reminds her is it a great one for a stripper and blames Brandy-as if she had anything to do with it. Being childhood sweethearts with her police officer boyfriend, doesn't stop her from kissing a handsome stranger at a Mardi Gras Parade. A kiss that rocks her world and complicates her life. Before she has a chance to find out his name or who he is - he is shot By the time an ambulance arrives, he has asked for her help in saving Isabella. Isabella is not at all what she expected. As Brandy tries to unravel the sudden complications in her life, the Mardi Gras parade serves as a backdrop and foil to her search for answers. Disguised identities in crowded and narrow streets, colorful characters and a four-legged femme fatale add up to magic, mystery and dazzling reveals. Will Brandy ever find out the true identity of her Mardi Gras mystery man? Who is Isabella and why is she so important to him? New Orleans is a character of its own in this whimsical story of tangled lives, plot twists and historical references. Just as music is an essential part of New Orleans, so is the lyrical lexicon of club patrons, locals and a friend called Duck Man. Brandy Alexander lives up to her name in the first of The Go Cup Chronicle Series. She stirs up trouble but will she remain unshaken? There's no place like New Orleans to have a good crime. From the Series The New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles

"The move from spectator to participant is a quantum leap. Yet each Mardi Gras in New Orleans, thousands of people make that leap, abandoning inhibition and reveling in the ever-growing creative phenomenon of marching krewes ... Simply put, a marching krewe is a group of like-minded people who get together for the purpose of marching in parades that take place during the Carnival (Mardi Gras) season. These krewes come in all shapes, sizes, and variations, yet they all share the attributes of creativity, artistry, quirkiness, humor, inclusiveness, and accessibility. Krewes are composed of people who practice dance moves, sew costumes, and create 'throws' to hand out to a covetous public"--Publisher marketing.

Marie Etienne's new collection of essays is fast-paced, heartfelt, and brutally honest. At 43, recently diagnosed as bipolar and on the brink of suicide, Etienne struggles to come to terms with deep-rooted feelings of fear, shame, and resentment by facing head-on who she really was, who she wanted to be, and what she was willing to do to make her life worth living. Etienne explores themes of love versus lust, the legacy of murder and suicide among her siblings, and the redemptive powers of faith, forgiveness, and courage. This story reveals the unstoppable drive of a woman determined to forge her own path through the world.