Williamsburg's First (?) Mardi Gras Parade Leads to Confusion, Rabble-Rousing, Brooklyn Bowl
L Magazine put on what may very well be Williamsburg's first Mardi Gras parade last night amid confused, yet surprisingly festive, revelers. An impressive purple, gold, and green float stocked with burlesque dancers in winter jackets, and the magazine's megaphone-armed publisher, Scott Stedman, burst forth from McCarren Park around 7:15 pm, wading through the slushy depths of Driggs Avenue.
Mackenzie Schmidt Show me your . . . drifts?
Dinosaur? Alligator? Either way it'll do.
A gaggle of bicycles led the procession, including Kae Burke's sparkly dinosaur costume moonlighting as a Lousiana-appropriate alligator, and Evie Falci, a beautiful bird of paradise of the mostly cardboard variety. Less clearly themed, but no less outlandish were a gorilla man on a bike, a golden goose towing a golden lion, and a "Search and Rescue" float. (Read: bicycle pulling a canoe tented in red fabric and supporting a large Egyptian head). We don't really know either.
The marching band scheduled to partake in the parade cancelled two hours beforehand. "I guess it's still a bit treacherous to be playing an instrument and walking at the same time," said Nick Burry, L's associate publisher. They marched on band-less, of course, and made even more noise to accommodate the lack of "When the Saints Go Marching In."
Unsuspecting pedestrians caught--or, more often than not, were struck by--flying plastic beads. Carousers hanging out of bars and apartment windows shouted, "I'm from Louisiana!" "LSU '06!" and for some reason repeatedly, "Brooklyn is on the map!" A surprising number succumbed to the ridiculousness and joined the parade, tramping up Bedford Avenue toward the final destination: free Hurricanes and a Wavves show at Brooklyn Bowl.
Evie Falci and her beautiful bird of paradise
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