Friday night Chris and I went to the Mardi Gras Ball. I had never been to one before so I am not sure what I expected. It was quite interesting. Having went now I can say that it wasn’t terribly boring, but it wasn’t overly exciting….I guess it just was.
For those of you not familiar with Mardi Gras festivities, the month kicks off with parades here in Mobile (the birthplace of Mardi Gras). Each parade is hosted by a Krewe and on many occasions those Krewes hold balls in celebration after the parades. We attended the Conde Cavaliers Ball, which started just an hour or so after the parade had ended that night.
We rented a room at The Battlehouse. The ball wasn’t supposed to end till 2 and was open bar so we wanted to be responsible regarding coming home. Our room conveniently stood directly over the start of the parade. We watched the floats from the warmth of our room while we got ready.
Which basically meant we stood in the window and flashed guests.
Hey..its Mardi Gras.
Totally acceptable.
Then off to the party.
This is what I look like without baby puke on my shoulder and a pony tail in my hair…
Basically the way the ball went was that it was hosted at the Mobile Bay Civic center. We watched about an hour and a half of “call outs” for the court. That means they call out the names of each Krewe and what float they were in charge of. Think “Krewe H with Great Balls of Fire!” and then a bunch of men, many which were dressed very Three Musketeers (and of course their lady escorts),
came dancing out to various Pop and Rap songs.
Initially this was quite entertaining as there is nothing more fun than watching a 75 year old man and his wife break it down to Yeah! by Usher while throwing fake money in the air. However, after about 30 minutes of that, it got kinda old.
What didn’t get old though was people watching. The dresses that women chose to wear were astounding. I saw everything from bowling ball cleavage, to entire see through dresses on the front (honey, stop looking!), to shower curtain pink lamé designs.
Being classy is clearly not always born into women.
At one point I stepped out to use the restroom and there were two ladies in the hall loudly talking about their fake breasts and one side being larger and touching each other to showcase their points.
If you do this…please don’t. Keep that talk for personal friends. It was really tacky…although it def peaked my spouses interest when I was telling him….as well as every man in the hall that was walking by at the same time.
Eventually it was time for the Queen to dance with her escort and her costume was beautiful.
Sadly for her, a FIGHT broke out on the dance floor…DURING HER DANCE…amongst the Krewes. We think it initially started between a woman and a man, but it basically ended in a mob on the floor and police were rushing out. Then some chick kept getting up in another chicks face and it led to handcuffs and being taken out of the arena. The entire time the Queen was still dancing.
I felt pretty badly for her.
Once that ended, boredom started again but it wasn’t long before we were allowed to go down and eat. They had open bar all around the event set up in individual rooms and while you were assigned to a room, you could pretty much go in and out of anywhere you wanted. The key to the entire thing was to find the secret rooms in the back where all the good food, dessert, and better music was playing.
We called it quits around midnight and took a limo back to the hotel…just for fun.
Overall it was nice to have a “date” with my husband.
Although a VERY expensive one.
Cost?
- Tux Rental $100
- Dress Cost $116
- Downtown Hotel $180
- Hair $40
- Tickets $80
- Shoes $60
- Cab Costs $20
- Overnight Sitter $100
TOTAL: Almost $700
Would I go again?
Not to this particular ball. Honestly the fight scenario, while being one of the most interesting things of the night, was a turn off. I don’t want to put out that kind of money to have to worry about police officers and drunk men. I also thought the organization was a bit weak and it felt more like I paid to watch the Krewes get drunk and party more than being involved.
But atleast my hair looked good.
And as a mom…you can’t ask for much more than that.
~trisha
I’m sorry your experience at the ball was not what you expected or payed for, this is not we want our guest to experience. The Conde Cavaliers were not represented in the best light that night. But I would love to have you and your husband again at our ball. I would be glad to provide the tickets for the 2013 ball. We are mobile finest and I will make sure we live up to that. Look forward to hearing from you.
where can you purchase ticketrs for 2013 ball and get information about dates and costs? thanks..sheila
My goodness, I absolutely love your hair and dress. Gorgeous.
You looked gorgeous! Sorry the evening was a bomb
Trisha you looked stunning in that dress! Stunning.
I went to this ball and had a great! I will be honest that the fight was extremely stupid. I am sorry if you are new to this area and don’t completely understand the Mardi Gra experience. I have been to many of the balls and they are for the most part just the same. Most of the men I know own their tux and the ladies shop around for their gowns. We also stayed down town and spent the same as you did and walked back to our Hotel (Holiday Inn.) I will admit that you probably didn”t know what to expect so saying that participating in the Mardi Gra experience is an acquired taste. I do hope with time you will understand and with experience come to love it as much as most of us who do.
Gina, thanks for the comment. I am actually from the Gulf Coast my entire life. I grew up in Gulf Breeze and have lived in Mobile for 4 years. I have experienced Mardi Gras here in Mobile, New Orleans, and Pensacola. However, this was my first ball. I just thought it was pretty…well…unclassy. My spouse doesn’t own his own tux, but that is because we rarely leave the house with two kids. Ironically my hair dresser was on the court for that particular ball, so I am interested in talking to her about what she felt like being a part of the organization. That surely cannot be the standard.
trisha
You both looked wonderful . Spending time out with your husband for 1 on 1 time no matter what you two were doing is always a beautiful thing. Glad to see you two out making a night of it. Sorry about those fights those are never fun. hopefully you’ll have another romantic evening out doing something so much more fun for Valentines
You look amazing!!!
Your pictures from the parade and ball are great. My husband is a Conde and my camera decided to die on me before the ball so I wasn’t able to get any pictures.
That being said, please don’t judge the entire organization on the actions of a few idiots. The Condes do not put up with that sort of thing. We’ve been a part of the organization for 4 years now and this was definitely out of character. The incident during the queen’s dance was unfortunate. It was caused by two men who wanted to go on the floor during the queen’s walk and when someone tried to stop them they started swinging. You can rest assured that these two individuals will not be there to cause trouble again.
As for the boredom of the call-outs, well all I can say is that the call-outs are mainly for the fun of the krewe and to show off the queen. And ALL of the organizations have basically the same call-outs so you would have to deal with that at any ball you go to; not just the Condes. Most of the people who don’t like the call-outs usually go to dinner or a bar or something until they are over and then go to the ball.
So I hope you will give them another chance. The Conde Cavaliers put on one of the best balls every year and do their best to kick of the Mardi Gras season right.
Teri, thank you for the comment. I agree that you cannot judge an entire organization based on one night or one persons actions. I do hope it was all resolved internally. As an outsider, it was frustrating to see and I am sure you can understand my hesitation on future events with this group. The call outs were not bad, they were fun, but they were long. The invites said the doors would close prior to call outs, so we didnt even consider a dinner and then attendance. I suppose I will know for another time!
Regardless, thank you for the fantastic parade. The floats were beautiful.
trisha
You and Chris look Fantastic!!! Too bad you didn’t have a better time!
thankyou! getting dressed up is always fun
well at least you got to dress up with your man! You look so pretty Trisha!!!
What a fun night. It’s good to get dressed up once in a while. You looked great
It sounds like a fun time, despite the fight on the dance floor. And you look gorgeous! I haven’t been to a ball since my husband got out of the Marines…I am so jealous! LOL
It was the Biggest night in my 32 yrs. in the Conde. It was Courtneys night to shine and she did so. The activaties that occurred during the Queens march was handled by her with such grace and royalty- not letting this distract her from her special night. I, being her father was so proud of her staying so poised, but was not surprised being the fine young lady she is. The thene this year was ( Conde Rocks The Juke Box ) and we feel that Courtney rocked the Conde and all Mobile. Courtney, we love you and so proud of you. Dad, Bev, Chris ,Dawn,Daniel and your Cavalier Family that you made so proud.