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Mardi Gras in Cape Girardeau? Part 3 in a series about Mardi Gras (This is not meant to be an exhaustive treatise). Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday" for all practical purposes was incorporated into the early Catholic church, during the middle ages, as a celebration to begin the period of lent leading up to the Easter Celebration. On March 3, 1699 the first American Mardi Gras was celebrated near modern-day New Orleans. The tradition is still carried on in New Orleans with many other krewes represented on floats in a myriad of parades. For many in the region surrounding Cape Girardeau, Soulard is the place to be for Mardi Gras. Boasting one of the largest Mardi Gras's in the country it has parties, balls and a parade. The city mayor hosts a ball in city hall, complete with music, food and costumes. ![]() Could Cape have a similar experience and impact? Most likely not, since we don't have the metro St. Louis population from which to draw. But, in this tri-state region, there is a large population base from which to build a significant festival. Mardi Gras in Cape, wihtin a few short years, could potentially be one of the most significant events of the year. Just imagine parties, balls and various events at venues all over the area prior to Mardi Gras. And a large parade made up of many area orgranizations and private groups just before the final event on Fat Tuesday. A number of you have shared with us your interest and excitement in this subject. Obviously, a project of this magnitude would take numerous committed individuals and/or groups to make it happen. Let us hear from you. Do you agree or disagree? If you agree, would you be willing to participate in the planning and organizing of a Cape Girardeau Mardi Gras? What do you think? Would you like to share your thoughts on the subject. Feel free to send them to us via email mail@iLuvLocalplaces.com,. on our website guestbook or Facebook fanpage where we have started a discussion for Mardi Gras. We will have further commentary on this in the future. The History Channel has a series of videos about Mardi Gras's history. Click Here and whatch/listen. The commecial content is all "The History Channel" and we make no money from this link, just good informaiton. laissez les bon temps rouler! & Luv Local, (let the good times roll) Janet Wade |
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Valentine's Day 2010 So Mardi Gras and Valentines Day share the weekend. Could make for some interesting ideas for how to celebrate one or the other event. For now, we would like to focus on ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day! Love is in the air. What's a "local" to do? You well know, if you do nothing romantic for Valentine's Day, nothing romantic will happen. So, you could take your sweetheart to one of the many nationally advertised restaurants in our area and expect approximately 1 to 2 hour waits at most of the big places all weekend. They do love it when Valentines Day falls on a weekend. Or you might surprise your sweetheart with something different and take your special someone to a place you've never been before. Maybe it will be one of our great many local places that we have in the area. When I thought about writing this article, I ask a few people I knew about their best dining experiences. Now granted, I tend to run in a circle that frequents local businesses, but I also asked strangers for their opinions. I have to admit that I never heard one story about a "chain place". Not that they don't serve great food, but I was looking for dining experiences. I did hear from a total stranger. She wanted to surprise her husband and made reservations at Rose Bed Inn for her husband's birthday. She said that the meal was the meal of a lifetime. Chef James took the time to find out what her husband liked and prepared "trout, her husband's favorite and the best he'd ever had". Another person I spoke to said he couldn't believe the caliber of gourmet chefs we have in our area and it all seems to be a secret. You would never guess what wonderful dining experiences we have within driving distance. Many of our Local Restaurants can rival dining in cities like Chicago and New Orleans at a much more affordable price. So this Valentine's Day make it special, call a "Local Place" and make a reservation for the meal of a lifetime. You won't just score big with your sweetheart, you will score big with your community. Here are a few top picks to get you started. Before anyone calls me, Celebrations and Ray's of Kelso in Kelso isn't on here because they are already full for Saturday and Sunday night. I have included phone numbers and suggest you make reservations. Bella Italia (It doesn't get more romantic than Italian) 20 N Spanish St, Cape Girardeau, MO (573) 332-7800 Carnations and Roses will be available Fri, Sat and Sun. And they will be serving Steak and Lobster on Sunday. ______________________________________________________________________
Broussard's Cajun Cusine(You can cover 2 bases here, Mardi Gras and Valentines Day) 120 N Main St, Cape Girardeau, MO 573-334-7235 _________________________________________________________________________ Cain (French does rival Italian for most romantic food) 31 N Main, Cape Girardeau, MO (573) 339-8709 Cain will be open Sunday to from 5pm until 10 pm and offering a special Valentine's Menu. ______________________________________________________________________
Mollie's Café & Bar 11 S Spanish St, Cape Girardeau, MO (573) 339-1661 Mollie's will be offering a special menu for sweethearts on Saturday and Sunday. Usually closed on Sunday, they will be open this Sunday 5pm to 9pm. ______________________________________________________________________
Ray's at The Plaza Conference Cape Girardeau, MO (573) 264-1115 Ray's Plaza Conference Center will be featuring a Sweetheart Dinner and Dance. Dinner will feature Chateaubriand, Prime Rib, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Shrimp Scampi. Live Entertainment starts at 8:00 with the Classic Sounds of AKA Chimes of Freedom. ______________________________________________________________________
River Ridge Winery County Road 321, Commerce, Missouri 63742 February 13th and 14th, 7:30 pm - Five Course Valentines Dinner paired with wine. Tickets sold in advance. 573-264-3712 ______________________________________________________________________
Aartful Rose, by Rose Bed Inn 611 S. Sprigg St, Cape Girardeau, MO (573)332-7673 Romance, good food, dancing, and fun. Come dine with your sweetheart at a romantic table for 2 or bring a big party for your own large table. Then dance to the tunes of DJ "Jerry Lomax". reservations required. ______________________________________________________________________
Saffron's Pan Asian Bistro 1610 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO (573) 651-1398 Saffron's will be offering a 5 course carry out meal for you romantics that want to stay in. They will also be offering specials for those of you that would enjoy dining out. ______________________________________________________________________
Von Jakob's Winery 1309 Sadler, Pomona IL 62975 Valentine's Dinner & Dance on Saturday, February 13, 2010. Dine in elegance with a five course meal (with entree of your choice) prepared by Von Jakob's chef & owner, Dr. Paul Jacobs. Dinner from 6-7 and is followed by live entertainment provided by "Four on the Floor" from 7-10 pm. ______________________________________________________________________
Cup-n-Cork 46 North Main St, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 (573) 651-5282 This one is for those of you who want a quiet simple Valentine's Day. First a movie, then stop by Cup n Cork to enjoy coffee and linger over dessert. Pretty romantic! Check out Bella's, Broussard's and Ray's pages for more information and a link to their website, by clicking on their names above. For a list of other "Locally Owned" restaurants visit our dining directory! Be our Valentine and share this with your friends! Janet Wade Your Friends at iLuvLocalplaces.com |
Many
people from around the region travel to St Louis, most spending at
least one night, many two and spend a lot of money having a great time
in the Soulard district and surrounding area.




iLuvLocalplaces is joining together with these great organizers to support Toys for Tots at Rude Dog Pub.
Being a huge fan of BB King of course I was. On the phone they told me it was an 80th Birthday Lucille model which I had never heard of! So I started doing research with anyone and everyone I knew that could help me out. I found out from Gibson, that 80 of them were created for BB King’s 80th Birthday in 2006 and that they sold new for almost $10,000. Each one was issued with a letter from BB King also and only 44 were sold in the US. As you can imagine I was pretty hyped up. When I got to the pawnshop I was disappointed to find that the guitar had been gigged hard, was covered in filth, had pick scratches and even some small dents from being played. The shop would not budge on the price. It did not have certificates and the case wasn’t the original. I flipped the guitar over and looked at the headstock expecting to see the standard serial numbers. To my surprise “Prototype 1” was stamped just below where the headstock should be. I figured this was a fake or a really cool piece that had once been approved by BB King then given away to a fellow musician, friend of the family or relative. 
