Mardi Gras

[HostDave]

September 19, 2012
By Christopher Kyte, President

One of the best things about a steamboat versus a hotel is that we can take a steamboat to different places. A hotel has to wait for special events to come to its doorstep. If you’ve noticed our schedules, you’ll see that we’ve managed to make certain the American Queen is in the best spots at the right times. For example, we’re in St. Louis docked right under the Gateway Arch on the 4th of July for the big air show over the river during the day and the fireworks exploding above at night. In the fall, we’re sailing along the Upper Mississippi for the finest fall colors in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Come Kentucky Derby time, we’re right in the heart of the action on the Ohio River in Louisville.

If you know me, then you know that I love a party and that’s why I’m so excited that this coming February the American Queen will be sailing from New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Even though we just recently announced our 2013 schedules, we’re already getting a lot of interest in our February 7, 2013 Mardi Gras voyage. We spend plenty of time in New Orleans to get the flavor of Mardi Gras before heading north and stopping in Oak Alley, St. Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg and Helena before arriving in Memphis. I could play up the fact that if you book before the end of this year, a $350 per guest travel credit is available and, of course, we have our one-night pre-voyage New Orleans hotel stay. And while prices begin at $2,395 per guest, I have to admit that the best part of this special offer is actually Mardi Gras itself. It’s celebrated with style in New Orleans, of course, but it also takes on a life of its own throughout the South.

While we all think of Mardi Gras as some sort of decadent Bourbon Street party, the truth is it’s much more fun, much more refined and much more historical than the media might ever portray. It’s more than a celebration; it’s part of the fabric of life in the South. You may not realize that Mardi Gras’ roots are firmly entrenched in French Catholic tradition. In fact, it refers to celebrations that took place before Ash Wednesday but after the Epiphany. Mardi Gras itself actually means “Fat Tuesday” and is named after the tradition of eating rich, fatty foods just before Lent’s traditional period of fasting. Leave it to the French to celebrate with a fantastic array of food! The French were also the ones who popularized the wearing of masks and costumes and holding dances, parades and even sporting competitions.

The rich history of the French in Louisiana and particularly New Orleans made the city ripe to become the epicenter of Mardi Gras events. Mobile, AL is no slouch when it comes to Mardi Gras parades and parties but so is Rio de Janeiro, Port of Spain, Quebec City, Mazatlan and even Barranquilla in Colombia. In the United Kingdom, they celebrate with traditional pancakes while fried breads and pastries are a big hit in Mexico, Columbia and Brazil.

New Orleans can trace the origins of Mardi Gras to Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville who were sent by French King Louis XIV to keep an eye on France’s claim to what became known as the Louisiana Territory. The pair made camp near what is now New Orleans on March 3, 1699, Fat Tuesday, and the tradition was born. New Orleans itself wasn’t founded until 19 years later and the celebrations didn’t take on a life of their own for another 100 years or so. In 1856, the Mystick Krewe of Comus, inspired by Mobile’s Cowbellion de Rakin Society, is generally credited with organizing the first parade in New Orleans. And an unstoppable tradition was off and running. Over the years, the parade blossomed into every possible form of party, drink, dinner and dance.

Aboard the American Queen on this special Mardi Gras voyage, we’ll have The Harry James Orchestra, the New Orleans All-Stars, Touts Les Soir and the Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band to help celebrate in true New Orleans style.

For me, there are few things that I treasure more than tradition. And while to the casual observer, Mardi Gras might just seem like a big party, it’s so much more than that. It weaves the French history of the region with the importance of religious observance in a new, untamed world. French settlers took the familiar and introduced it into the unfamiliar until, three centuries later, it has become something so revered in New Orleans that many people believe it to be quintessentially American. At the American Queen Steamboat Company, it is or mission to bring you the best of America and I love the fact that in doing so, we are able to show our guests the patchwork quilt of nationalities, cultures and history that have come together to create the America we know today. I invite you to join us on February 7, 2013 as we roll two great traditions, a journey on the American Queen and the vibrant fun of Mardi Gras, into one unforgettable vacation.