Most students don’t make it to New Orleans or Galveston for Mardi Gras. So they brought the celebration to the Southwest Campus in a Fat Tuesday parade.
Fat Tuesday is the traditional name for the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of Lent. About 60 students from kindergarten through 5th grade donned masks and beads as they paraded from the pavilion to the other side of the cafeteria. Then they gathered as a group and danced away.
The sense of Mardi Gras, which is Fat Tuesday in French, was the first that most students have experienced, said kindergarten teacher Ms. Carloss. It gets its name from the custom practiced in many Catholic countries of marking the day with feasting before the fasting season of Lent begins.
“They got a chance to dance and listen to some music,” Ms. Carloss said. Oh, and the music came from the car of assistant director Adiela Lopez.
The king was Jaheel Brown from Ms. Carloss’ class and the queen was Semaj Turner,from Ms. Frazier’s kindergarten class.The attire was provided through a fundraiser, a common practice to finance activities for students.