| APRIL 4, 2016 -- Mardi Gras Party at Harrington Court: Members of Colchester Grange #78 introduced the traditions and history of the celebrated season leading to “Fat Tuesday” Mardi Gras. The room was decorated in the traditional colors of the season. The colors for the season are purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power.
Each year, the Mardi Gras (or Carnival) season starts on January 6th. There are many parades every night starting two Fridays before Mardi Gras. Residents were given mask and encouraged to be vocal and yell out “throw me something Mr.” That is the call for beads to be thrown from floats to those calling. Grange member tossed beads to the residents who were very eager to receive them.
The party gave the opportunity for residents to learn about how people feast on Mardi Gras traditions serving wonderful foods such as gumbo, banana foster, chicken etouffee, pralines and king cakes. The group learned how a little plastic baby is hidden in the king cake and the person finding the baby will have to host the next year’s party. Grange members cooked and served beignets. Everyone enjoyed the special dough mix fried and covered with confectioners sugar.
Eva O’Connell (Grange Member) served beignets to a few members attending. Viola, Bev and Bob enjoyed the special treat that the others also enjoyed. The party served about 20 residents residing at Harrington Court in Colchester. |
