Mardi Gras comes to Charleston
The Lowcountry gets a taste of Bourbon Street today as the Krewe of Charleston hosts its second annual Mardi Gras celebration, which features a yacht parade that afternoon, followed by a masquerade Grand Ball that evening.
In lieu of the infamous debauchery synonymous with its New Orleans counterpart, however, Charleston's celebration will be a family-friendly affair benefiting the MUSC Children's Hospital.
In step with the New Orleans tradition of presenting its Mardi Gras court during a parade, the party kicks off with a procession of decorated yachts carrying revelers as well as this year's Lowcountry Mardi Gras royalty.
The fleet is set to depart from the Charleston City Marina at 10 a.m. and will travel along the Battery. Former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford will be aboard as queen, while New York businessman and Charleston resident John McAvoy will serve as king.
The celebration will continue that evening from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Grand Ball, hosted at the Charleston Marriott, where costumed party-goers will enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while dancing to the sounds of Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters.
Patients from MUSC's Children's Hospital also will be in attendance, decked out in full costumes while serving as pages to the king and queen.
Donnie Bulliard, captain of the Krewe of Charleston, said that the decision to make the occasion open to all ages was an easy one.
"Lots of people associate Mardi Gras as a drunk fest," Bulliard said. "But I grew up in a small town in Louisiana. In the months leading up to Mardi Gras, we'd decorate our own costumes and floats. It brings people together."
His love of the Mardi Gras tradition is what first inspired him to form the Krewe of Charleston, a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to upholding the New Orleans tradition, in 2009.
"Charleston and New Orleans share a lot in common: heritage, strong family ties, romance, lore, architecture," he said. "I now call Charleston home, and to me, home isn't home without Mardi Gras."
In May 2009, Bulliard presented his Mardi Gras idea to a group of friends during a dinner party.
"I wanted to share a culture that is so steeped in tradition and family," he said. He met Joya Darby Wolf that fall, and asked her to serve as the 2010 Mardi Gras queen.
"That's when I knew we had a Mardi Gras; you can't have one without a queen. She has been perfect and has held her responsibility with great enthusiasm and humility."
He said that Sanford and McAvoy were selected due to their grace, style and dignity.
The Krewe of Charleston has since grown to more than 60 members and is the only one of its kind on the East Coast.
"There are hundreds of Krewes along the Gulf Coast," Bulliard said. "But I am wholly dedicated to bringing a family-oriented Mardi Gras to Charleston. And trust me, I'm going to do my job."
