New Toulouse

If you thought you heard the patter of tiny feet around the city on Saturday, you weren’t imagining it. The Tiny Social Aid and Pleasure Club played host to the 8th Tiny Dance in aid of Relay For Life.

Twenty-five people crowded into the little club near the cemetery for two hours of dancing to the Totally Legitimate tunes of Manfred “Mani” Hancroft. A favorite Tiny slogan is “Tinies haz big funz,” and we certainly did. The joint was fairly jumping.

There was a slight moment of discomfort when Patrolman Bacon stopped by, and for a moment everyone thought it was a raid. Happily this upstanding member of New Toulouse’s finest was persuaded, in the time-honored manner (I can always set it against tax), to stay and enjoy the fun.

As reported elsewhere, we raised a staggering L$12,450 on the day, and I am delighted to report that a late donation raised that total to L$13,450.

See more pictures on page 7 by Tattler society photographer Pieni Cakefox.

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Francesca Alva’s favorite song is “Raccoon Around the Christmas Tree.” Pieni Cakefox is a well-known patron of the arts and is not safe around cake. Quiet Wonder moonlights as Big Belle Peppa with the Oh God What Is That marching band.

If you heard the patter of Tiny feet in New Toulouse on Saturday, you weren’t imagining it. The Tiny Social Aid and Pleasure Club held the seventh New Toulouse Tiny Dance in aid of Relay for Life. Those critters raised a staggering L$15,050 in the fight against cancer, and they had a great time doing it.

Mayor Henri Godenot and Miss RMarie Beedit were unable to attend but sent apologies together with generous donations. Among the Tinies present were Miss Eilidh McCullough, who started the ACTS team Tiny Dance tradition, team captain Olde Eldemar, who looked most dashing as a cavalier, and his co-captain and wife, Cassie Eldemar.

The DJ was once again Manfred “Owlbear” Hancroft with his “totally legit” tunes.

Our photographer was there capturing the scene as the cream of Tiny society strutted its stuff.

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Frances Lava is a Biggie and intends to stay that way. She lives in Gloryville overlooking her family tomb.

On February 3 the Krewe des Zombies threw a Float Decorating Party at Kari’s Bar and Dance. Miss Karima’s club was decorated to the hilt, with green, gold, and purple covering every bit of the stage, and covering some bits of the reveling audience. Retired Zombies floats from past years decorated the club entrance and the waterfront warehouse doors.

Mamaa Saiz warmed up the crowd at six o’clock, playing standards and favorites, and within a few minutes everyone was dancing. After a great performance, Mamaa Saiz put away his guitar, donned his dancing shoes, and joined the crowd.

The Hogman was in fine form, bantering with the reveling crowd, teasing and joking, greeting old friends, and changing up his playlist to deliver a fun, festive show. Quitting time came around, but the Hogman didn’t slow down, he just kept playing long after quitting time, and the audience loved it. The Hogman played a half hour longer than expected, enjoying the warmth of New Toulouse and the enthusiasm of the crowd at Kari’s.

The party ended at 8:30; the tired but happy crowd went home. Not a single bit of float decorating had been performed.

The Zombies krewe had so much fun not decorating their float that they plan to not decorate their float again this Saturday, February 18, at 12:30 PM. Miss Kari will entertain the club with zydeco recordings until the live performer, Mr. Winston Ackland, begins at 1:00 PM.

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When Floyd Barrileaux is not writing art and music columns, he can be found moving cargo at the docks.

On Sunday, June 12, New Toulouse Tinies and Team ACTS welcomed Tinies (and Biggies) from near and far to the Tiny Dance in Aid of Relay for Life. This popular annual event was instigated by our own Eilidh McCullough six years ago and was first held at le Vieux Canal in Algiers. Older residents will have fond memories of this establishment and remember the terrible storms of December 1913 that swept away the entire Algiers region. The Green-Eyed Fairy in New Toulouse hosted the event thereafter.

This year, the venue changed. Thanks to the generosity of Miz Niki and the untiring efforts of New Toulouse’s feistiest Tiny, Miss Gigi Lapin, New Toulouse Tinies finally acquired their own club: the Tiny Social Aid & Pleasure Club in Red Drum Place.

Manfred “Owlbear” Hancroft once again provided the music, and we all enjoyed his “Totally Legit” songs. Team ACTS captain Olde Eldemar displayed an unexpected talent as the city’s newest self-appointed “professor” and tickled the ivories to great effect.

Mayor Henri was there, doubtless relieved that he could still attend the dance in his official capacity.

The good times certainly rolled, and our Tiny contribution was a huge L$25,000.

More pictures by our own Miss Pie can be seen on page 7.

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Miss Frances Lava lives in Basin Street and is founder and president of the newly formed Raccoons Out of New Toulouse campaign.

• Krewe Bayou Flavor Parade
• Saturday, January 30, 1:00 PM
• Starting point: Bayou Street and Shotgun Row

Featuring the Oh Lord What Is That marching band. This year’s theme is food, and all are invited to dress up in food-related costumes and join the parade. “Everyone’s in Krewe Bayou!”

• Zombies’ Surprise Ball
• Saturday, January 30, 2:00 PM
• Kari’s Bar and Dance, #1 Bayou Street

Hosted by the Ancient and Secret and Arcane Krewe des Zombies. Expect zydeco tunes on the phonograph, followed by a live performance by guitarist and vocalist Hogman.

• Dans la Mer
• Sunday, January 31, 1:00 PM
• Spiegel Hall ballroom (third floor)

The Krewe of Bast presents an undersea-themed masquerade ball featuring the piano stylings of New Toulouse’s own Zachh Cale. Revelers are encouraged to attend in “fishy fancy dress.”

WHAT: Surrealist Ball (and potential chicken dinner)

WHEN: Saturday, August 22, 1:00 PM

WHERE: Spiegel Hall and Dimension Q

WHO: Krewe of Bast plus DJ Ghosty Kips plus you

WHY: Endways tingling, resuscitating demurely

HOW: Music treats understanding to dinner, a hat

SUGGESTED ATTIRE: Weighty irreverence

The Krewe Bayou rooftop ball, Gloryville, this past Sunday

NW: Well, there may or may not be actual kraken in the gumbo.
HG: And then there’s always the question, after you’ve fed five hundred people, what do you do with the rest of the kraken?
ZZ: Open a restaurant chain selling kraken-based products?

(Baby kraken friends are distributed.)
SH: Ooo. Octopus child. This is going to be hard to explain away.
KK: Thanks for taking them off my hands! They have been keeping me up all night!

NW: 39-inch-tall Charles Sherwood was better known by what name?
FA: Lofty.

AT: Can’t believe how strong these buildings are, strong enough for twenty dancing people.
NW: Hey, this building has been through hurricanes, and the Fat Tony incident.
LV: Fat Tony?
AT: Oh, please tell.
NW: We must get on with the trivia, she said, covering for the fact that she just now made up Fat Tony.

NW: What is a baby oyster called?
LV: Glen.

NW: What does a grabatologist collect?
LV: Crabs?
IT: Derrieres?
TF: Garbage.
SH: Perverts?
HP: Grabby hands!
FA: Tape recordings.
NW: All good answers, all completely wrong!
SH: Which one was less wrong?

This morning I woke up to a piece of paper hitting me in the face. I’m still staying at the rooftop hotel, so I suppose that is not the worst thing that could have hit me. Groggily I peered at the page: it was a handbill advertising a maybe-party this Sunday, hosted by Krewe Bayou.

Last year around this time, I asked the shadowy figure calling herself Queen Notakraken how a person might join the krewe, if he were so inclined. You are already in Krewe Bayou, she told me. Everyone is in Krewe Bayou, whether they know it or not.

You would think that as a member of the krewe, I would have heard about this party earlier, or whether we’ll parade, or what. You would think that, and you would be wrong.

So all I have to go on are whispers, and this poster, and what looks to be party decorations on the roof next door. They say that Ghosty Kips had to cancel on spinning the platters because of a family matter, and that the mysterious “DJ Tabasco” stepped in handily to save the day with his collection of Cajun, zydeco, and swamp pop recordings. (They don’t say what “swamp pop” is, but I don’t think it has anything to do with Okra-Cola.) They say that there will be plenty of beer, which will come in handy in case of fire. They murmur of a trivia contest with “fabulous prizes.” And I overheard a rumor to the effect that “everyone gets a baby kraken friend.”

Now you know everything I do.

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Jack Mondieu, Ace Reporter, is often perplexed.

Surrealists gathered in Spiegel Hall Saturday to celebrate the first annual Surrealist Ball, sponsored by the Krewe of Bast. Guests arriving were announced by the Great Big Eye at the entrance shouting, “Has anybody seen my gal?”

Krewe members had transformed the auditorium into a phantasmagorical tableau in which the attendees in fantastical garb cavorted, engaged in wordplay, and sampled from the extraordinary buffet provided by Kristine Jinx-Kristan. The food, while often inedible, was often quite audible; for example, an amuse-bouche called “Two Matches. One New, One Burned. Garnished with Mint,” said when prompted, “The sisters of St. Cathode ask that you cover yourself with filaments and take pains to make yourself fully incandescent this evening.”

By popular demand, the decorations will remain up for the coming week, and persons wishing to take home the buffet may do so by consulting the poster on the table.

Nikita Weymann led a game of Exquisite Corpse, asking individuals for words. “And then,” she said, “I will glue them all together and feed them to a snail.” Game participants were Alterego Mee, RMarie Beedit, Kristine Jinx-Kristan, Liza Veliz, Gamaliel, Dr. Avalon, Francesca Alva, Crispin Sturges, Harley Mihnea, Carter Denja, Ghosty Kips, Eilidh McCullough, Maggie Hawksby, Pazzo Pestana, and Gragarth, who together produced the following three sentences, each contained in a snail that is still obtainable in the Spiegel Hall auditorium:

The oblivious feather hungrily leaned the laggy tea.

The attenuated friction fetidly confabulated the crumbly antimacassar.

The ugsome pineapple mindlessly wobbled the delicious elbow.

DJ Ghosty Kips supplied a gloriously madcap set of meticulously mapped-out music to the cheering congregation. “Please hold your tomatoes,” he entreated, warning of an upcoming song. “Hold your friend’s tomatoes if necessary.” At least two persons metamorphosed into the delicious nightshade fruit in response.

“Oh no, I spent half an hour getting dressed,” said Ohdearme Ohmai. “I’m not changing into a tomato yet.”

Photo credits: Kristine Jinx-Kristan, Henri Godenot.

See more photos here and here.

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A. Flyonthewall is rarely this loquacious.