CHICKASAW, Ala. -- A 100-year-old story of rebirth just opened this weekend at the Chickasaw Civic Theatre. Based on a novel published in 1909, "The Secret Garden" follows the story of an orphaned 12-year-old girl who discovers a neglected garden that she helps revive, along with her own spirits and those of her ill cousin and his father. The... Full story »

If Thursday night's opening performance was any indication, the Cirque du Soleil production "Saltimbanco" will generate an inconceivable number of "oohs" and "aahs" this weekend. In a first for Mobile, "Saltimbanco" runs through Sunday at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Center. It is one of Cirque du Soleil's longest-running productions, packed with the unique blend of circus, theater and... Full story »

At some point just after midnight on Fat Tuesday, the Masked Observer and Dark Hallway took a solemn oath that they would eat no more chicken drummettes forever. Even if they were trapped on an island. That's the sort of rash decision that comes from nearly three weeks of society coverage. And Monday night was no exception. We managed... Full story »

On a warm, sunny Fat Tuesday, both sides of Mobile's Mardi Gras -- family friendliness and boozy bacchanalia -- were on display within throwing distance of each other. Beneath a canopy of sun-dappled oak trees in Bienville Square, children tossed footballs to each other while adults stood nearby, grilling barbecue chicken. Two blocks away, a short, bespectacled man wearing... Full story »

An hour before the sights and sounds of the MAMGA 2009 parade electrified the crowds lining the route, Jennifer Wright staked out her spot at Spring Hill Avenue and St. Stephens Road. She grew up with Mardi Gras in Mobile, and now a wise young woman, she has returned to her roots. "They don't have this in north Alabama,... Full story »

GULF SHORES -- Ginny Bozigar doesn't count on luck to obtain her Mardi Gras bounty. The Ohio native came to the parade on Fat Tuesday with a variety of strategies that ranged from pointing to her friend and yelling "Mardi Gras virgin" to shouting throw beads "for the grand baby."  Full story »

As the first drums sounded along the parade route Tuesday morning, and masked riders appeared, the Carnival crowd knew Fat Tuesday 2009 was under way.    Full story »

Tony Wright and a group of his friends parked themselves along the barricades in front of the Garage bar Tuesday morning and waited until mid-afternoon for the highlight of Wright's Carnival season: the Comic Cowboys parade. The low-tech group, which rolled for the 125th time this year, eschews floats for bare-bones trailers that carry satirical signs. "Someone's got some... Full story »

Viewing parades from a balcony is usually something reserved for those with hotel rooms on Royal Street or invites to swanky Government Street corporate parties. But there is -- if you don't mind some diesel fumes and a few oil slicks to watch out for -- another way: a downtown Mobile parking garage.  Full story »

In the brisk air of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on Monday, Cassandra Jackson sat in a folding chair waiting for the parade to begin -- well, three parades, actually, that would make the afternoon a long, music-pumping, Moon Pie-and-beads cavalcade. "We do Mardi Gras every year," said Jackson, who waved her arm at her extended family around her.... Full story »

The Masked Observer had to be hospitalized briefly on Joe Cain Day while doctors worked feverishly to get the chorus of Beyonce's "All The Single Ladies" out of his head, but he wrote this little bit before the drugs kicked in. Joe Cain Day always throws him for a loop, because it's the so-called People's Procession. Sure, the people... Full story »

If you had a choice of listening to Glenn Miller big band music or something called the Velcro Pygmies, which would you choose? Exactly. The Observer and Dark Hallway, trusted bodyguard, threaded their way through the police-estimated crowd of 83,267 people who turned out for the Mystics of Time parade Saturday night. Police also estimated that at least half of... Full story »

Up until this point, our brave Mardi Gras correspondents had attended about 18 balls, so the Masked Observer was more than a little disturbed Friday night when Dark Hallway said he was being "drawn to the light." Every year, just as the lid comes off, the dauntless duo begins to feel the effects of hard partying, hours of dancing... Full story »

It was their training in the Queen's Special Air Service that caused the Masked Observer and Dark Hallway to know instinctively Thursday night that they were being stalked by an unseen force. Within minutes of exchanging the secret emergency signal, the two circled back on their own route inside the Mobile Civic Center and closed in on Crescent Moon,... Full story »