Focus On 4th
Focus on Fourth compiled by Sands Spencer of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association.
Mardi Gras
he biggest costume party of all is just around the corner, and you don’t have to get to New Orleans to partake…you just have to get downtown to 4th Avenue! We are talking Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday. Beads and doubloons. Merriment, fun, revelry.
A few facts to whet your appetite:
- The French had masked balls and parties in the early 1700’s, but when the Spanish government took over both parties and masks were banned and not reinstated until America took control of the region around 1827
- Throwing trinkets to the crowd started in the early1870’s with the Twelfth Night Revelers
- Purple, green, and gold are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras
- The Mystick Krewe of Comus was formed as a secret society in 1857 and put on the first documented organized parade and celebration under American jurisdiction; prior to that Mardi Gras was basically a riot with no organization and was actually in danger of being banned (again) due to the uncontrolled nature and abandonment of the revelry
Since the mid 1800’s Mardi Gras hasn’t looked back. Although most cities and many foreign countries have their own version of the event, Mardi Gras has become an icon for New Orleans. While there are a few individual nightclubs in Tucson that celebrate Mardi Gras there has been no attempt to organize a focal point for a community wide event…until now. Last year the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association stepped into the role played by the Mystick Krewe of Comus in 1857 and helped organize an afternoon and evening of music, costumes, and revelry, including a parade of costumed individuals led by The Puppet Works (the same folks that populate the All Souls Procession every year).
Following on the success of last year, on February 24th the Fourth Avenue Merchants will host the second annual Tucson celebration of Mardi Gras. Although merchants and participants will celebrate all along the Avenue, the center of activities will be the 300 block of 4th Avenue with live bands and a costume parade to be held just prior to dusk. Street festivities will continue until 9 p.m., at which time the bars and restaurants of 4th Avenue and the greater downtown area will pick up the ball. So, February 24th from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. get your costume, bring the kids for the sights, and get ready to celebrate Mardi Gras Tucson Style!
Tucson Police Foundation
ith 2000+ non profits in the greater Tucson area one would think that every possible need was covered, but that is not the case. This year marks the beginning of the Tucson Police Foundation, a non profit, 501 c (3) organization founded to increase the safety of Tucson citizens. In the wake of the economic slowdown and the events of 9/11 the Tucson Police Department is facing serious funding gaps left by budget cuts and federal grant funding deficits. The Tucson Police Foundation will attempt to provide the citizens of Tucson with a police force that is not just adequately equipped and trained, but superbly equipped and trained, and also to increase the community support and involvement with this most important function.
The Tucson Police Foundation supporters believe that public safety is really a community project. Police departments everywhere are tragically under staffed and under funded, lacking critical equipment and training. With local, state, and federal budget cuts in place important services, training, and equipment are being written off as “not affordable”. The Tucson Police Foundation supporters believe that “not affordable” is not acceptable when it comes to the safety of Tucson citizens and/or Tucson Police Department personnel. Here in the Downtown area we have been blessed with the formation of the first new TPD division formed in decades. It has made a measurable difference in the Downtown area, but the new division is still not fully staffed or funded.
“Small scale fund drives have been successful in the past” says Tucson Police Foundation spokesman Paul Hallums, “but there has never been a concerted effort by the Tucson community to assist the Tucson Police from a budgetary standpoint. The Tucson Police Foundation will change that.”
If the Tucson Police Foundation follows the pattern of other similar programs throughout the nation the primary source of revenue will be donations by ordinary citizens. Corporate donations, events, and investments will also contribute to the funding resources, but the backbone will be the individual citizen.
Since the Tucson Police Foundation is a totally volunteer organization not one penny goes to executive salaries, 100% of all donations will go toward public safety.
“Donations will be tax deductible” Mr. Hallums states, “but the true return will come in a safer, friendlier community, and a police department that is ready for any contingency that these troubled times can throw at us!”
To learn more (or make a donation) visit the TPF web site: www.tucsonpolicefoundation.org.
Saturday on 4th: February 7th, 2004
Band Schedule:
Bluegrass by the Desert Bluegrass Association
Magpies Gourmet Pizza Patio 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Namoli Brennet
Delectables Patio 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Sound Paintings by Rikki Newell
Chocolate Iguana Patio 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
