A serving of crawfish at the March 5, 2016 festival in Homestead.

Notwithstanding trying to work through the concept of having a Mardi Gras and Crawfish Boil in March, the music was lively in Losner Park on Saturday. The parade is billed unabashedly as, “short, enthusiastic, and with the most beads per person”, and lives up to that. It’s only about two blocks long and there are plenty of beads to be thrown to the crowd. People get into the spirit with masks, colorful hats, and other attire. There are also lots of purple or green shirts with gold accents. I’ve about decided that in view of wanting to have a parade while it’s still light, but also being able to segue into nighttime for the adult party aspect, having the festival in March can really be promoted as, “Missed Mardi Gras? Come to Homestead for a final round of celebration.” I think that would bridge the gap for those of us who have a cultural attachment to traditional timing.

Anyway, there was a nice crowd and it certainly looked as though everyone was having a good time. With Mickey McGuire, the on-site Director (Program Manager?) for the Seminole Theater as Mardi Gras King and me as the Queen, our driver, Kevin from Sabates Chevrolet, was a pro and a fun guy. The bright yellow Camaro was a happy coincidence that literally matched the yellow of the special event tee shirts.

I didn’t try the hurricanes, although I suspect they went down smoothly as they usually do. Crawfish were too messy to try to deal with considering I was wearing one of my silky (with some bling) tunics, but Hubby was able to arrive after a full day on the water and he had them along with a bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo. These events are always a lot of work to put on and hats off to everyone who has a part in that.