Having a ball in New Orleans.Despite the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , 65-year-old George Patterson George Patterson may refer to:
n. New Orleans Any of several groups with hereditary membership whose members organize and participate as costumed paraders in the annual Mardi Gras carnival: "They . . . of Satyricon, is keeping his beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. city's spirit alive. But putting together a series of balls for the two-month-long carnival season, which culminates with Mardi Gras on February 28, is proving difficult. "There aren't any people here," he said. "Every grocery store in New Orleans is obliterated o·blit·er·ate tr.v. o·blit·er·at·ed, o·blit·er·at·ing, o·blit·er·ates 1. To do away with completely so as to leave no trace. See Synonyms at abolish. 2. . Things aren't open, and [the city] doesn't work the way it used to." But Patterson is optimistic about the celebrations and rejects any notion that Mardi Gras should have been canceled this year. "If you get rid of Mardi Gras, it's tantamount to getting rid of New Orleans," he said. Mardi Gras krewes, which derive their names from Roman mythology, are clubs of like-minded individuals in New Orleans who put on balls and build floats for the parades. "The gay krewes came about in the '60s, where up until that time, balls were strictly straight and boring," Patterson said. "In 1960 a group of gay guys in drag put on [a ball] that made fun of all the straight balls." |
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