Wednesday, February 23, 2000

Throw Me Some Beads, Mister! ~ by Kim Tsai




MardiGras.com continued the launch of their campaign at the fabulous midtown "W"  Hotel with a festive carnival party. While entering the party, we were greeted with green, gold, and purple beads--the signature colors of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Masks with funky feathers were passed around while the Zydeco band was playing in the background. Immediately strolling into the party, I was introduced to Richard Pinto, the CEO of MardiGras.com. He graciously explained the goals and future plans of his company. In a nutshell, the party was to
gather support for an online congressional petition campaign. The plan is
to persuade Congress to make Mardi Gras a national holiday. The name of
this new rally is called "The Party"--and rightly so.

The party was interrupted by the surprise appearance of Captain Morgan while Alan Bell, the general manager, was giving a brief overview of MardiGras.com. Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum is another supporter of this petition. So, as you can well imagine, all the drinks were made of rum--Pina Coladas, daiquiris and
hurricanes. Just to give it that extra New Orleans Cajun kick, Nawlin's style food was also served. The party was a complete success as many were interested in declaring Mardi Gras a holiday, not just in New Orleans, but across the world.

Upon leaving the party, Captain Morgan left us with a few words--"I think it's time to put the 'party' back into politics. That's why I'm forming 'The Party.'"