Party, Party

Fareed and I at Mardi Gras
Fareed got his beads

From the seventh floor of the The Terrace, one could see the parking lot by the House of Blues in Downtown Dallas filled to maximum occupancy. A walk around saw the main streets that carve out Victory park teamed with people,and in the parking lot adjacent to the entrance to The W, stood a live music stage, vendors and a throng of colorful costumes of party goers. Lines to buy beer, craw fish, and Popeye's chicken was as long compared only to the lines to the restrooms-- two hundred or more people in two lines.

On the other side of the park, where the giant screen displays flashed all kinds of ads, the fountain was on display wetting the body of a dancer who apparently drunk was a source of entertainment to many onlookers.

The night's weather was cool(upper 5o's or so), and the people of Dallas came out in great numbers for their first Mardi Gras party. You could see the excitement in many faces, as they walk in numbers holding hands, saying Hello's or "Excuse me" as they make their way through tight corners of standing bodies chattering the night out.

The parade-a time that got so many people shouting, hollering and some jumping for beads, was as colorful as the rainbow although not as flamboyant as one might expect in a Mardi Gras party.