Best Places to Celebrate Mardi Gras in London By Hanane Zahrouni Whether you call it Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, this is one tradition worth celebrating. Mardi Gras originated from Medieval Europe and now most commonly in New Orleans, where the first written record of Mardi Gras celebrations harks right back to 1699 with gatherings around a campfire. By the 1730s, the riotous, colourful celebrations we know today had started: it was a way for people to ‘escape society and class constraints’ with carnival floats throwing trinkets and purple, green and gold beads, each representing justice, faith and power respectively to the crowds. By 1875, it became an official holiday in the state of Louisiana. Let us ditch the history lesson, however, for this means only one thing: one month of global parties! From Germany and Belgium to Sweden and the United States, Mardi Gras (French for ‘Fat Tuesdays’) the world is enjoying the spirit with the three C’s: costumes, cocktails and camouflage. Sure, you can stuff your face with pancakes – or you can go ahead and kick it like the rest of the world. Here are six of the best places and events in London to celebrate Mardi Gras in style. 1. Nola: 6-68 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3AY, United Kingdom //Tuesday 4th March //
Tickets £5 – £10 // Book here Nola will be hosting one of the biggest Mardi Gras parties in the UK, inspired by the exotic carnivals of New Orleans. In addition, frankly, the closest the grey UK will get to one. In fact, so immense will the party be, revellers at Nola will be spilling out of the bar and into the one next door. As expected with a Grade-A parade, attendees will be wowed with live music from an 11-piece brass band parping out New Orleans funk and soul along with costumes, carnival vibes and cocktails, Mardi Gras style! 2. SushiSamba: Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AY // Tuesday 4th March //
8pm – 2am // Book here With restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Chicago, no wonder sister bar, SushiSamba made our heavenly Mardi Gras list. This 24 hour bar in the City will have FrancoSwiss DJ Giles Peterson on the decks, carnival cocktails, live samba dancers of course (where would we be without them) and batucada drummers.
3. Art Macabre’s MARDI GRAS: Masquerade Special: The Proud Archivist, 2-10 Hertford Road, London, N1 5ET, United Kingdom //Tuesday 4th March // 7:30pm – 10:30pm // Book here For the artist in you, this is the location to be. Art Macabre are known for reviving the joy of drawing, but with a twist. The geniuses behind A.M. will have masked models, hiding their face but peekaboo-ing their skin, elevating the curiosity of life drawing to a completely new level. Traditions of the carnival glitz will be present throughout the night with the addition of jazz music and Belgian rituals. With shades of Halloween-meets-Mardi-Gras, you will also be taking stimulation from Edgar Allen Poe’s Goth tale, The Masque of the Red Death.
4. Mardi Gras: Dom Piplin & The Brass Volcanoes & DJ Lil Koko // The Blues Kitchen, 111-113 Camden High St, London, NW1 7JN, United Kingdom // Tuesday 4th March 2014 // 7:00 pm – 12:00 am (Live Music starts 9:45 pm) // Free Entry What can we say about Blues Kitchen – apart from the delicious authentic American menu, they establishment is will also be celebrating Mardi Gras, New Orleans style. With a fancy dress box, feather boas, masks, beads, and not forgetting the traditional cocktails and music (a live marching set from the Brass Volcanoes, Dom Piplin and DJ Lil Koko) and perhaps best of all, there is Gumbo, gratis! You cannot say no to free Gumbo.
5. Mardi Gras at Galvin at Windows with Tabasco® Pepper Sauce // 22 Park Lane, London, W1K 1BE, United Kingdom // Tuesday 4th March 2014 // 12:00 pm – 11:30 pm // To book, please call 020 7208 4021 or email reservations@galvinatwindows.com Galvin at Windows’ festivities will be all about food, food and food. Guests are asked to wear the Mardi Gras colours, masks and beads to get into the spirit of things and those obedient souls who comply will receive a complimentary glass of champagne. Attendees will be delving into the taste of the delicious Deep South at a local venue. A variety of Cajun and Creole dishes prepared by head chef Joo Won and accompanied with Louisiana’s favorite flavour enhancer – Tabasco® Pepper Sauce. The menu will feature classic Gumbo with a Galvin twist, lobster Creole and a scrumptious banana pudding, amongst many other Mardi Gras dishes and cocktails, prepared by Boris Ivan at The Soul Punch. This is Mardi Gras with a twist of elegance.
6. Vault Festival 2014: Fat Tuesday: Arch 233, Leake Street, London, SE1 7NN, United Kingdom // Friday 7th March // 10:30 pm // Tickets £12-£15 // For full listings, click here The six-week Vault Festival returns for a night of carnival parade and live music from those with the experience of the theatre. Kansas Smits’s and Americana Arts will combine forces to create the ultimate London Mardi Gras party! If you are thinking of making the trip for the celebrations and parade next year, and would like further information on the Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans, click here! HZ