The Mardi Gras/Carnevale season began hundreds of years ago when European Catholics had to whoop it up one last time before Ash Wednesday ushered in the buzzkill of Lent.
Over the years, the French in New Orleans, Italians in Venice and Brazilians in Rio have taken the masquerade street ball and run topless with it. People party as if Lent were for the remainder of the year, and the only real fasting going is dieting before bathing-suit season.
Whatever your religion or lack thereof, we give you blessings to laisser les bons temps rouller with two fantastic — albeit tamer — events to get your Mardi Gras on.
In Ybor City, two popular Ybor restaurants, The Green Iguana-Ybor and Bernini, are teaming up for the Fat Tuesday Party from 6 to 8 p.m. Located by corner of the 17th Street and East Seventh Avenue, the joint soiree features a creole buffet, the Second Line Band (Dixieland quartet) plus drink specials — such as $4 Southern Comfort Hurricanes and $4 Southern Comfort Rough Riders. Free, but reservations are requested; RSVP here.
Tonight is also the festive and eclectic Mardi Gras on Main Street party in Downtown Dunedin. The event has been a tradition since 1992. Some 25,000 partiers are expected to show up.
The festivities begin as early as 5 p.m. and end at around 11 p.m.; parade starts at 7 p.m.
The grand marshal of this year's parade is WTVT-Ch. 13 personality Charley Belcher, and Mardi Gras queen is Amanda D'Rhod. Mardi Gras king Gregory Brady will ride on the WQYK pirate ship at the end of the parade.
In the meantime, restaurants, artists and vendors set up along Main Street. Tampa's Swamp Logic plays its signature blend of New Orleans funk and blues on the Pioneer Park stage from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed at 8 p.m. by headliner Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble (pictured, left) from Louisiana.
For other details, visit delightfuldunedin.com/mardigras.php.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.