By Molly Pepper
Staff Writer
For those with the time and
money, Mardi Gras is little
more than nine hours and $115
away on the MSC Travel Com
mittee-sponsored trip to New
Orleans this weekend.
But those lacking time and
money don’t have to miss out
entirely. Alternative cele
brations in Austin and Galves
ton may not have the French
Quarter, but they’re equally fes
tive, more economical and
closer by.
The Austin celebration is in
its fourth year. Held on Feb. 11,
it will consist, officially, of a pa
rade and a mascarade ball,
sponsored by the Austin Cham
ber of Commerce. The parade
will start at 6:30 p.m. with
floats sponsored by businesses
and individuals from the Austin
area. The Royal Court Masca
rade Ball will begin at 8 p.m. at
the Driskill Hotel on 6th Street.
Unofficially though, the cele
bration will be helped along by
the owners of clubs and bars
lining 6th Street, who’ve been
left to plan their own Mardi
Gras celebrations. With cos
tume contests, street venders
and musicians, the goal of 6th
Street merchants is to make the
street more crazy than usual,
packed shoulder-to-shoulder
with people.
Galveston sponsors another,
longer celebration which began
Feb. 1 and continues through
Feb. 11. This celebration has
been geared more toward fami
lies and will have art exhibits
and shows of all kinds through
out the city. A children’s parade
and another large parade to be
held on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 6:30
p.m., will be highlights of the
celebration.
The Galveston Chamber of
Commerce is expecting about
250,000 people to attend the
festival.
These two celebrations won’t
come close to the festivities in
New Orleans but will have the
same basic themes and activ
ities of the original.
Mardi Gras, which means
“Fat Tuesday,” began as a final
celebration before the 40-day
Lenten period of abstainance, i
repentance, and reconciliation.
Historically, the Mardi Gras pe
riod begins on Jan. 6, and ends
on Ash Wednesday, the seventh
Wednesday before Easter. The
first Mardi Gras was held in
New Orleans in 1857 but the
idea of having a celebration be
fore Lent dates back to the pre-
Christian period.
It was originally an agricul
tural rite meant to represent
the death of nature in the win
ter and her re-birth in the
spring. The Catholic Church
later re-interpreted it to have
religious meanings.
In other parts of the world
I this pre-Lent celebration is
called Carnival, and is cele
brated in many countries in Eu
rope. Even the USSR, where Ash
Wednesday isn’t even observed,
has a week long carnival that
highlights the year.
Seventh Annual Aggie
Independent Film and Video Festival
Tuesday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 18,1986
7:30 p.m., MSC Ballroom (rm 201)
Admission Free
For additional information call 845-2247 or 845-8501
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