This is the parade we’ll be participating in–a community walking parade: St. Ann’s Parade.

Whooooeeeee!  I’m grateful to my friend Jen (you know the one with the awesome purple tour bus, LaZoom?) for inviting me for my first trip to New Orleans (NOLA, if you will), an amazing, powerful city.  I’m pretty sure going during Mardi Gras, post-Saints Super-bowl win (FYI, the New Orleans Saint’s is a football team and they won the big game last week for those who don’t follow sports), with a former NOLA local and performer/costumer extraordinaire will be a once in a lifetime experience.  And, I’m excited.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the still present effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city; juxtaposing the celebration and the devastation.  And, I think about how I will respond to seeing the 9th Ward, to being in the place of such social injustice.  And, I think about how I can possibly offer anything, any sort of response to those who live there, who lost there, what we all lost there.

We have a very large community of folks from NOLA, and celebrating the vibrancy of NOLA, living in Asheville.  You have seen them costumed around Asheville over the last few weeks.  You will see them parading and carnivaling.

To me, Mardi Gras represents hope in the human spirit and love.