Posts Tagged ‘Arijah Ankh Khalid-Zyn’

Patchwork project celebrates community

by on Tuesday, September 30th, 2014

ari-quiltersA new club in town wants to square things with you. Specifically, the New Toulouse Quilters Association wants your square.

“The idea is to create a quilt using squares donated by residents,” said Ms. Arijah Ankh Khalid-Zyn of the New Toulouse Christmas quilt project. “Each square should represent something personal or inspiring to you. Ideally, these would be things representing your business, hobbies, interests, or life here in New Toulouse.”

The deadline for contributions is November 30, after which the squares will be stitched together into Christmas gift quilts for the people of New Toulouse. Find details on how to participate in the mayor’s multipurpose room at the land office.


Gigi Lapin is still looking for her pet crawfish, Jimbo.

Summer celebrations in full swing

by on Tuesday, June 24th, 2014

Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen, at the St. John's Eve fete

Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen


It was a busy extended weekend with the twin holidays of Midsummer, the longest day of the year, and St. John’s Eve, New Toulouse’s biggest fete of the year.
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach and his lovely wife Zantabraxus

Baron Klaus Wulfenbach and his lovely wife Zantabraxus

Midsummer and all of its mischief were welcomed in this year by a Midsummer Night’s Scream masquerade ball. The ball was organized by Miz Arijah Ankh Khalid-Zyn and yours truly, and the theme this year was “Vampires and Fairies,” which pretty much meant all magical creatures were welcome.

New Toulouse turned out in its dark and glimmering finery and tore it up with DJ Gamaliel of Dance With the Dead Radio, who was generous enough to have the revelers donate to the Gumbo Society instead of his own coffers by way of traditional tips.

Miz Ari draped New Toulouse’s Spiegel Hall in black and green regalia and provided delicious traditional food. She included the recipe for each dish, so one could recreate the enchanted morsels easily in one’s own Unseelie-free kitchen. I provided the booze and had some O-negative on hand for the translucent and thirsty vamps who showed up. We didn’t want them eating the fae, after all.

Nearly L$2,500 was raised for the Gumbo Society, making Gumbo, the society’s mascot, one happy donkey.

Aodhan

Aodhan


Miss Burke

Miss Burke


St. John’s Eve, organized by Miss Maggie Hawksby and Miss Tilda Brown, was also a huge success.

The bayou was all dressed up in tradition so powerful that many of the mighty loa slipped into corporeal splendor to dance with the partiers. Baron Samedi, Papa Legba, and Mama Oshun were among the divine attendees, and they mixed it up famously with the many residents of New Toulouse, as everyone danced to the splendid spinning of Holocluck Henly and his psychedelic shades.

Dancing around the bonfire to goatskin drums and zydeco beats was a glorious way to celebrate this most sacred night, and while not present in the flesh, the very essence of Marie Laveau was there leading the revelry and celebrating with her beloved loa.

The night sky was resplendent as the merrymakers spun beneath the celestial umbrella.

For more images of both events, visit Miss Maggie’s photo albums:

• Midsummer Night’s Scream
St. John’s Eve Celebration

It is safe to say that summer and all of its mischief are well and truly here. Enjoy the season!

Miss Maggie and Mama Oshun drumming

Miss Maggie and Mama Oshun drumming


Salome Starsmith is the owner and manager of the Severed Head pub in New Toulouse and lives on the bayou in a tall, stilted house with her dog Edouard, hoping zombies cannot climb stairs.

Terpsichorean trouble in Taloo

by on Sunday, May 25th, 2014

A strange dancing malady broke out in New Toulouse last night. The exact number of residents affected is unknown, but three cases were reported.

I was one of those cases.
dancebug001
Mayor Henri offered up his old family cure-all, “Potion 99,” in hopes that it would stop the shaking. Although the cure helped some people, it didn’t appear to help all, and after taking way more than the recommended dose, I was still afflicted.

Miss Niki suggested that perhaps it was a food allergy, or a reaction to eating tainted mushrooms.  Considering that I did not eat the mushrooms, that doesn’t seem to be plausible in my case.

Spirit possession was also offered as an explanation, but in my experience, one doesn’t recall the events of a spirit possession, especially as they’re taking place.

I went out into town, searching for others who might be afflicted, and even though not all were, the bug did seem to descend upon a few visitors. One woman, upon arrival, started twitching and moving around so badly that she jumped right back on the ferry and demanded to go home.

I became delirious and tired, and apparently I passed out, eventually waking up on the docks, cold, wet, and covered in swamp grass. Fortunately, the dancing sickness seems to have passed.
dancebug002
I, for one, am blaming aliens.


Even though Arijah loves the bayou, she feels that swamp grass doesn’t make a very good fashion statement.