By Glenda Winders

Two children being pulled through a park in a festively decorated wagon kicked off my Mardi Gras celebration when they threw a strand of beads in my direction and called out, "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" (Let the good times roll!) This is exactly what I had come to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to experience — good fun during what the city proudly calls its family-friendly Mardi Gras.

"Mardi Gras here has a different focus," said Randy Roach, the popular mayor of Lake Charles who is credited with coming up with the G-rated version of this traditional festival. "We like to focus on kids and family and make it special for the children."

While the actual carnival takes place on the "Fat Tuesday" before Ash Wednesday and the privations of Lent, the season starts on Twelfth Night — Jan. 6 — when "royalty" from the year before promenade once more before their costumes are retired, King Cake is served for the first time and the new year begins.

French settlers brought the tradition of eating King Cake on Epiphany to Louisiana in the 18th century. The yeasty cake is baked in a ring to symbolize a king's crown and decorated with white frosting and colored sugar "jewels" in green (to represent faith), purple (justice) and gold (power). A tiny plastic baby is baked inside the cake, and the person who gets it must provide the cake for the next party, with celebrations being held all the way up to Mardi Gras.

Throughout the season krewes are busy assembling costumes, designing floats and having parties. A krewe can be any group of friends, family, co-workers or club members who choose to take part, with each one selecting its own royalty, hosting its own gala and riding in the finale parade.

With so many traditions to learn about, I found that a good place to begin was the Mardi Gras Museum in the Central School Arts and Humanities Center. Here different aspects of the celebration are explained in an organized fashion — the history of Mardi Gras in one room and others devoted to costume design, King Cakes and parades. More than 400 lavish costumes are on display with many more in storage. Each is made of lush fabrics and thickly encrusted with feathers, glitter, sequins and "jewels." Some have high collars and long trains, but they must be practical enough to withstand several wearings before they are retired to the museum for all time.

I was lucky enough to have local historian Adley Cormier as my guide.

"Mardi Gras is traditionally the time before Lent when people went wild," he told me. "The pauper became a prince, the blacksmith became king. Society turned upside down."

He explained that the celebration arose from Louisiana's "gumbo of people." In the 1700s the state was settled by the French and Spanish. Rural Acadians from Canada arrived between 1755 and 1790, and Hatians came after the insurrection there when slaves revolted and escaped in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to a place where French was spoken and the climate was similar to their own.

The colorful pageantry enjoyed today has evolved from the collision of such disparate activities as prairie chicken runs and communal meals among poorer people and the practices of showing debutantes off as potential brides and throwing coins and beads to their servants to obtain loyalty among the rich.

"If you believe the universe has toppled over," Cormier said, "you've caught the spirit of Mardi Gras."

With this new understanding I felt better prepared to appreciate the excitement I was about to enjoy. The celebration begins with the Merchants' Parade, where local businesses and social organizations strut their stuff on the Friday before Fat Tuesday — this year Feb. 13 since Mardi Gras is Feb. 17. This will be followed on Saturday with a Cajun Extravaganza and Gumbo Cookoff and a Zydeco dance. Zydeco is the music of Louisiana's Creoles that features accordions and washboards and challenges anyone within hearing to stand still.

Saturday is Children's Day, when kids will congregate at the Lake Charles Civic Center to make arts and crafts, sample foods, be entertained by clowns and jesters, and have their pictures taken in costumes as they learn about the traditions so important to their state. This will be followed by an afternoon parade with floats designed to appeal to the youngsters in the crowd, and they will be tossed beads and gifts similar to the ones the adults will receive two evenings later. That night there will be a Lighted Boat Parade and Taste de la Louisiane — an all-you-can-eat meal that celebrates local cuisine. On Lundi Gras, Fat Monday, is the Royal Gala, also at the Civic Center, when the spotlight is on the krewes as they parade in front of the queens of the festival to show off their finery.

Tuesday begins in the town of Iowa, Louisiana, with the Iowa Chicken Run, a holdover from the time when people sang for their neighbors in order to obtain the necessary ingredients for gumbo. Today it consists of a parade with participants stopping at pre-arranged venues to chase down a symbolic chicken and sing and play music. Unlike former days, the gumbo is ready for them when they return to the Knights of Columbus building for eating and dancing. Mardi Gras is a state holiday, so businesses and schools are closed and everyone can take part.

The grand finale is the Krewe of Krewes Parade, where royalty will wear their finery and toss beads to people in the crowd who shout, "Throw me something, mister." My efforts resulted in an open umbrella full of gawdy beads and a photograph of me grinning as if I had won the lottery.

In the hours between events there is time to take in more Lake Charles and southwest Louisiana culture. I especially enjoyed a tour of the Charpentier Historic District, where the elegant homes were elaborately decorated for Mardi Gras. Some residents had even left up their Christmas trees and redecorated them with green, purple and gold balls. My guide this time was another local historian, A.C. Bourdier, who delighted his audience by lacing his factual monologue with snarky comments about restorations that he didn't think came up to snuff.

Also not to be missed is the Boudin Trail, 27 possibilities for tasting the area's signature boudin sausage balls. My schedule didn't allow for all 27 stops, but I did make it to Le Bleu's Landing, where they sell such Cajun items as gumbo mix, jambalaya, boiled peanuts, hush-puppy mix and gumbo roux along with the boudin.

What will bring me back, however, was the Creole Nature Trail, which has joined such highways as Route 66 and Big Sur as destinations in themselves. Known as Louisiana's Outback, it encompasses Gulf of Mexico coastal wetlands, several wildlife refuges, shell-collecting, fishing and birdwatching, along with encounters with alligators and other local wildlife — a perfect natural conclusion to an unforgettable week of revelry.

Laissez les bon temps rouler, indeed!

WHEN YOU GO

For information about all aspects of Mardi Gras in Lake Charles, visit www.swlamardigras.com or call 800-456-7952.

For information about the Boudin Trail: www.visitlakecharles.org/boudin

For the Creole Nature Trail: www.creolenaturetrail.org

Glenda Winders is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.