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| As usual, a more raucous scene
prevailed in the French Quarter. Jesus freaks and neo-pagans got in each
other’s faces in front of the St. Louis
Cathedral, drag queens ruled in the Pink Zone
(the gay-friendly upper part of the Quarter), and
free-spirited marching groups strutted their
stuff. Among them was the legendary Krewe of Coleen, whose 70-year-old
monarch, Coleen Salley, rides around in a grocery
cart known as the Royal Chariot. Many old Mardi
Gras cohorts from across the country were on hand
to help the famously eccentric Queen Coleen
spread good cheer and hilarity. “I
wouldn’t have missed it for
anything...,” remarks Jean Howell, a
resident of Fayetteville, Ark. and a key player
in the formation of the krewe. “It was like
a family reunion.”
The
krewe, founded in 1974, was out of commission for
several years in the 1990s due to Queen
Coleen’s temporary “retirement”
from parading. Mardi Gras 2000 was her 24th ride.
And although the millennial outing was billed as
“The Grand Finale,” Queen Coleen now
says she’ll keep at it as long as her band
comes in from Florida to help liven things up.
Jean Howell’s brother Jeff, a
singer-guitarist and talk-radio personality who
lives in Orlando, says that if enough of his
musician friends are game, “I can probably
be talked into it fairly easily.”
“To
me,” says Queen Coleen, “the high and this has always been
the high for me—is the fun of everybody being
together one more time.”
|
 Evangelist
and neo-pagan
in a tête-à-tête
in front of St. Louis Cathedral
These
spirited debates have
become a Mardi Gras ritual.
Photo © 2000 -
Dan Allen
Queen
Coleen and grandaughters Katherine (in white) and
Sarah (behind)
Will her
highness ever really
retire her crown?
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| Also
making a strong showing on Fat Tuesday was the Krewe of Elvis, whose theme was
“Larger than Life.” Billing
itself as the “First Cyber-based Marching
Club,” it’s an offshoot of one of the
first Mardi Gras Internet sites, http://mglinks.com, operated by Chip and
Linda Curley of Nashville, Tenn., a.k.a.
"Dead Elvis" and “Elvira.” Around
60 marchers participated—up from around 15 or 20 for
the club’s inaugural parade in 1999. There
were a number of female Elvi, plus an Ann-Margret
impersonator. (The real Ann- Margret starred with
Elvis in the 1963 movie Viva Las Vegas.) The
coveted Order of the Golden Donut award for best
costume went to Michael J. Maurizio of New
Jersey, who was got up as “Jail House
Rock” Elvis. (He was dressed as an
inmate with faux pokey bars mounted on his back).
|
 Michael J.
Maurizio as "Jail House Rock" Elvis
The King
loved junk food—hence the
coveted
Order of the Golden Donut award
for best costume.
Photo courtesy of
Craig "Jester" Imboden
|
“We
had a great turnout,” says Chip Curley, “and
everybody had a ball....It was kind of a hoot to see all
those Elvises coming down the road.”
KOE
throws included scarves, panties, bumper stickers, wooden
doubloons (with an image of the King and the words
"I saw Elvis at MGY2K") and "Get out of
Jail Free" cards (with a space for the holder to
fill in his or her name). There were also two hand-made
limited-edition beads—one featuring a 3-D Elvis medallion, the
other a donut medallion (the King loved donuts, according
to Curley).
One high
point: an impromptu pit stop at the Famous Door on
Bourbon St. The club’s doorman, having spotted
the Elvises, invited them in. They got on stage and,
cheered on by the crowd, gallivanted to a medley of Elvis
tunes including “Jailhouse Rock.”
As for
the hue and cry about public nudity, while the police
were out in force along Bourbon between Canal and St.
Ann, they mostly turned a blind eye to the flashers. By
contrast, along the section of Bourbon between St. Ann
and St. Philip, where many gay revelers congregate, there
was virtually no police presence.
 Krewe
of Queenateenas balcony on Bourbon Street
Motto:
"You show,
we throw."
|
It
was certainly business as usual at the Krewe of
Queenateenas balcony, at 828 Bourbon, which was
decorated in accordance with the theme “Sex
Goddesses.” According to Rip Naquin,
publisher of Ambush magazine and
co-founder of the gay-oriented krewe, upwards of
20,000 strands of beads took flight from the
balcony over the course of the afternoon.
“They [the revelers on the street] were just
like they were last year—basically showin’ for
nothin’,” he reports, adding with a
chuckle: “They just couldn’t wait to do
it.” |
When all
was said and done, no major incidents marred the Y2K
festivities. And while the police reported 360 arrests
for “lewd conduct”—the exact same number as last year—it’s a safe bet that the vast
majority of those involved below-the-waist exposures and
public urination.
In an
editorial on March 9, the Times-Picayune reflected
favorably on the millennial Mardi Gras madness. Headline:
“What a swell party it was.” beginning
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