Harry Wraps up Fat Tuesday

They picked a great name for the end of Mardi Gras: Fat Tuesday. After eating all that King Cake on Monday, I was feeling pretty fat!

But that wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying the last day of celebrations. Speedy the millipede and Atlas the leafcutter ant went with me to see the Mardi Gras Indians. They aren’t really native Americans, they’re local folks who dress up and run together in tribes. They have the most amazing costumes and crazy tribe names like “Yellow Pocahontas” and “The Wild Magnolias.” That last tribe had a really catchy song about getting a new suit every year for Carnival.

It’s really weird and wonderful. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried!

Then we saw Rex himself, the King of Carnival. He was in a huge parade with amazing floats. There were literally hundreds of floats in the parade. Because it’s Fat Tuesday, the Insectarium is closed, so my friends and I were able to stay and watch the whole parade. It was a blast.

Miley the monarch butterfly and Luckie the ladybug attended a debutante ball that evening, but that’s not really my thing. I ended up eating the last of the King Cake back home with Esteban the tarantula and Paw Paw the hissing cockroach. That was our kind of ball.

Then at midnight, Mardi Gras was officially over. And I was officially worn out. I slept almost all day Wednesday. Part of me was sad that it’s all over until next year. But I need the rest. I couldn’t keep up with the Carnival lifestyle every month!

Even though I will miss the King Cake. You have to admit, nobody throws a party like New Orleans!