Let the Good Times Roll!

[HostDave]

By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President

If you live in the South and someone asked you what the phrase “let the good times roll” meant, you’d answer quickly enough. It’s the motto of a way of life. It’s about living life to the fullest and taking advantage of special events and opportunities. You only live once, so why not do it up right?

Throughout most of the South, and especially in New Orleans, if you were asked how to say that same phrase in French, you’d immediately respond with “laissez les bons temps rouler” and then you’d point out that’s actually Cajun French and that’s the proper way to say it. The phrase is spoken all over Louisiana on television, in print and on the streets and almost always expressed in relationship to Mardi Gras and its attendant parties, parades and celebrations.

Now, New Orleans is known for many things, but it is perhaps most closely associated with the celebration of Mardi Gras. What, exactly, is Mardi Gras? Ask any Southerner and they will jokingly point out it is a religious observance that now celebrates a bit of sin as well. It begins right around the Epiphany and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. The words “mardi gras” actually translate as “Fat Tuesday” and refers to the practice of eating a bountiful harvest of fattening, rich foods just before fasting for Lent.

Many places in the world celebrate Mardi Gras, but it has become part of the culture of the South and the very spirit of New Orleans itself. Back in the late 1700s and early 1800s, mystic societies formed in the United States, marked by their masked members. The Cowbellion de Rakin Society of Mobile held the first parade in 1830 and by 1856, the idea took hold in New Orleans. Six businessmen met in the French Quarter and organized their own secret society and set out to hold a parade. The Mistick Krewe of Comus was born and more societies were formed. Even those residents who weren’t Catholic or French joined in the fun of the parade and celebration and eventually Mardi Gras and New Orleans became eternally intertwined.

Now, let me be clear on one thing. The media image of Mardi Gras as being nothing more than a bunch of drunks on Bourbon Street or wild women and bead-tossing men isn’t at all accurate. While there’s some saucy revelry in a few areas, Mardi Gras is about celebration and tradition more than anything else. The key to experiencing Mardi Gras and unlocking its many secrets is to find a native of New Orleans, someone with connections and who knows their way around the city, the parade, the dinners and the parties.

It turns out, that for our guests, that insider is the American Queen Steamboat Company. Our Mardi Gras Themeboating adventure that sails roundtrip from New Orleans to Memphis is a 10-day celebration wrapped around the core 8-night voyage. Enjoy Mardi Gras as an insider beginning February 6, 2013. You will spend one night in a New Orleans luxury hotel and one overnight at the dock aboard the American Queen before departure. That’s two full nights before sailing from New Orleans with a chance to soak in the spirit of the city and partake of traditional Cajun cuisine. Enjoy beignets and chicory coffee at Café du Monde, view the performers in Jackson Square and pop into a jazz club on Bourbon Street. Best of all, when it comes time for the parade, you’ll be escorted to reserved seating right on the parade route on St. Charles Avenue to experience, up close and personal, the authentic Mardi Gras parade. If the amazing floats don’t take your breath way, the fanciful costumes certainly will.

But Mardi Gras doesn’t stop when you step on board the American Queen. In fact, Arthur Hardy, the grand historian of Mardi Gras, is aboard to answer questions, give talks and help you feel like a long-time resident rather than a visitor. Thanks to Arthur, outsiders become insiders for the Mardi Gras celebration. One of the great Mardi Gras traditions in New Orleans are the costume balls and aboard the American Queen, we’ll hold our very own Mystic Krewe of Steamboating Mardi Gras Ball one night that embodies everything that makes Mardi Gras such a revered institution.

As I mentioned earlier, Mardi Gras is not just known throughout the South, it’s celebrated throughout the South as well. As the American Queen makes her way upriver to Memphis, you’ll have the chance to see how places like Oak Alley, St. Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg and Helena all embrace the fun, parties and food of Mardi Gras. At each port of call, you’ll find local citizens in period costumes representing the early days of Mardi Gras as well as fanciful and colorful outfits that take into account the bright, shiny festival it has become.

Mardi Gras is more than a parade or a party. It’s a state of mind and I invite you to join the American Queen Steamboat Company and the American Queen as we present you with a true insider experience. On this special voyage, Mardi Gras is a week-long celebration in New Orleans and all along the river, including aboard the American Queen herself. If you’re going to do Mardi Gras, then do it right. Do it the Steamboating way!