Mardi Gras may be over, but festival season has only just begun, with St. Patrick’s Day, French Quarter Fest, and Jazz Fest just around the corner.
But one challenge of all of these events is accessibility. You have to physically be able to go to parades, concerts, and balls. This can be especially challenging for the elderly, many of whom have physical limitations or disabilities.
Thankfully, at St. Margaret's at Mercy nursing home, if you can’t go to the Mardi Gras, they bring the Mardi Gras to you. Louisiana Considered’s Alana Schreiber has the story.
This story originally aired on 89.9 FM and has been lightly edited for length and clarity
Alana Schreiber: On the Friday before Fat Tuesday, St. Margaret’s at Mercy is decked out for a Mardi Gras ball. The nursing facility is complete with carnival balloons, king cake, and the residents are donning their best throws. For many of them, coming to this ball brings back childhood memories.
Augustine Lunar: Oh yeah I like Mardi Gras. My mother used to love Mardi Gras. We would come to the city and she would cook food for everybody.
Joyce Clofer: All I remember is how much stuff I could catch!
Audrey Flynn: My heavens it’s so long ago, I can’t hardly remember. I guess the parades, and the king…
Charlene Gazoni Chappeta: It’s just going to the parades and seeing the beautiful floats. And seeing people enjoying being together. Sharing Mardi Gras.
AS: That was Augustine Lunas, Joyce Clofer, Audrey Flynn, and finally Charlene Gazoni Chappeta. But today, Charlene’s not just any resident. She’s the queen of the ball.
CGC: I tell ya I haven’t been to parades since my children have grown up. But we used to make all of the parades. Every one of them. I am so happy and this was such a surprise to me.
AS: But Charlene isn’t alone at the royalty table. She’s joined by Earl Phillips, a former musician, and today’s king.
Earl Phillips: It’s awesome, it’s beautiful, and the queen is beautiful
CGC: We are very good friends. So I can’t tell you how happy it made me that all of these employees voted me as queen. Because I love them too.
AS: That’s right, it was the employees of St. Margaret's who elected Charlene and Earl to the throne.
Towards the back of the crowd is Audrey Flynn, as one of the newer residents of St. Margaret’s, at age 101, she’s the only one in sight not using a wheelchair.
AF: Recently, I gave up working at City Hall. I worked for the Mayor of New Orleans. So I saw a lot of Mardi Gras. And I enjoyed it. I lived right on the parade route, in uptown. So I could walk right to the routes from my home.
AS: Audrey is still adjusting to life at St. Margaret’s, so for her, today’s ball is a taste of something familiar.
AF: This is a nice surprise for me. It’s my first time here and I knew we were having a party but didn’t think it would be as large as this is and as much fun.
About an hour after the festivities begin, a Zulu king arrives to deliver throws.
One of the recipients of some Zulu beads was Joyce Clofer. When I asked the New Orleans native her favorite moments from Mardi Gras past, she had one memory that stuck out in particular.
JC: “Listening to my great uncle roll the drums in the band he was in. He would tell us kids, “Listen for me, I’m gonna roll the drums for you!”
AS: Joyce says she sort of “gave up” Mardi Gras as she got older, so today’s ball reminds her why she loved the celebration as a kid.
JC: I think everybody just forgets their burdens or problems for a day and they can get out and enjoy themselves.
And while the residents wave their new beads and finish their king cake, the activities director Nicole Adams is beaming in the corner. Because for her, the best part of the ball, is just watching
Nicole Adams: Seeing the smiles on the residents' faces, watching them enjoy themselves, have a good time, eat, have fun, is what New Orleans is all about…It’s like home for them. This is what home was. This is what they grew up with, this is what they know.
AS: For many of these residents who no longer live at their homes, Mardi Gras is home.
But, like most members of older generations, they’ve also got plenty of advice for young people on how to have a good time
AL: Don’t get into trouble!
JC: Be careful, watch where you’re going.
AF: Don’t drink too much. That’s it.
