Where to Spend Fat Tuesday & Mardi Gras Parties

When I was in high school, our band director (yes, I was in the band; alto saxaphone if you must know) told us to get out and hustle to sell a lot of some type of product to the community because we were raising money to go on a trip.

At first, we yawned, thinking it was another band camp. But then he said we were going to New Orleans and marching in Mardi Gras parades! Well we could not get our hands on whatever it is we were selling fast enough. I think it was plastic polar bears that you put baking soda in to remove refrigerator orders; my mom was the only person who could move them and she alone practically sent the entire band to New Orleans.

But go to New Orleans we did, and as a wide-eyed 15-year-old it was an eye-opening experience. About the the first thing we did was walk down Bourbon Street. A couple of us suddenly found garters at our feet; they were flung by prostitutes hanging out on the balconies. Nothing we had ever seen in Knoxville, TN, prepared us for that, I can tell you!

The parades themselves are pretty much a blur – we marched, and marched and marched. It seems as if they would never end. I was fortunate enough to be on the outside of a row and I had dozens of drunk girls coming up planting huge kisses on me and putting beads around my neck. I'm not sure I've ever had a better Mardi Gras!

Needless to say, Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday have always held a special place in my heart. And so it was with much pleasure that I began to discover celebrations outside of not just New Orleans, but Rio, as well. For example, there are HUGE, million-person Carnival parties in Cologne and Dusseldorf, Germany. And a slightly smaller one the Swiss capitol of Bern. Check out this list of Top Carnival Party Places for PubClub.com

So where will I be this Fat Tuesday? Going to San Diego, where they block off the Gaslamp Quarter with bands and a parade. I've been before and it's a blast.

But hey, if you want to go to New Orleans, here's what it's like, complete with a parade schedule for 2011.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!


This blog was written by Kevin Wilkerson, publisher of PubClub.com.

Time to Party Again; It's Fat Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, March Madness & Spring Break

Now that February is in the rear view mirror – and are we not glad to see it gone, for it even snowed in Southern California – and March is roaring in like a lion.

In fact, February left us with a lot to ponder beyond how to dig a car out of a snowstorm when one is nowhere near a ski resort:
• What will happen in Egypt now that its citizens have overthrown the government?
• With similar unrest happening throughout the Middle East, and Libya on the verge of ousting its leader, how high will gas prices rise in the coming months (or heck, even days)?
• What to make of Moammar Kadafi's ridiculous military uniforms? Plus, he's had more rambling rants than Charlie Sheen.

Well, PubClub.com is here to tell you that help is on the way. It's March, and the madness has arrived. So don't just sit at home watching the TV, searching the Internet for the latest Middle Eastern country about to go down or wondering what CBS will do with "Two And A Half Men."

Get out there and party!!!

Here's what on the party landscape in March (and yes, it's all sheer madness):
• Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday.If you can't get to one of these places, then go out to anything resembling a local Cajun bar, put on some beads and let off some February steam. PubClub.com will in San Diego's Gaslamp District taking in the parade. Heck, might even be in the parade (6-11 p.m.)

• St. Patrick's Day. Now if you can't get excited to party for St. Patrick's Day, then it's time to start re-evaluating one's priorities. It's Thursday this year, which happens to fall on the opening day of...

• March Madness. Hey, even your boss knows why you are taking long lunches, making excuses to leave work early and are even watching games on the computer at your desk. (because he or she is likely doing exactly the same thing). Those first two rounds are incredible, the greatest spectacle in sports. Heck, maybe he/she will even let you go to Las Vegas for March Madness.

• Spring Break. Every college student's winter dream has arrived. It's time to head down I-75 to Florida, I-10 to Lake Havasu, I-37 to San Padre Island, or even a plane to places like Jamaica or Cabo San Lucas. Yes, mom and dad, we took our books to study!

• South By Southwest. As if Austin were not a good enough place to party anytime of the year, March 16-20 is this huge music festival taking place throughout the city. It is bigger, even, than a home UT football game.

So there's no excuse. Make the most out of March.