Twelfth Night: No rain, but it’ll be a bit nippy

OK, here’s the scoop on the Twelfth Night celebration coming up Thursday evening: There’s only a 30 percent chance of rain, but it’s going to be on the chilly side, with temperatures as low as 47.

But Bill Raymond, manager of the Biloxi Visitors Center and one of the organizers of the affair, says have no fear. Hot chocolate will be available, along with helpings of Mary Mahoney’s Old French House seafood gumbo, chicken pasta from Bacchus, and, of course, king cake.

Twelfth Night is the city’s official changing of the seasons, from the holidays to Carnival. The celebration begins with at 5 p.m. gathering at the Biloxi Visitors Center. At 6 p.m., the reigning Royal Court of Gulf Coast Carnival Association will be presented to extinguish the Christmas lights at the Biloxi Lighthouse.

The entourage will then board a Mardi Gras float and parade to the Mardi Gras Museum at 119 Rue Magnolia, where, at 6:30 p.m., the purple, green and gold lights at the Mardi Gras Museum will be illuminated, signaling the beginning of Carnival season.  It’s on the front lawn of the museum, which is also known as Mary Mahoney Park, where the gumbo, chicken pasta and king cake will be served. The Ole Biloxi Marching Club will be on hand to provide musical and other entertainment.

Twelfth Night, incidentally, also is a reminder of the religious significance of Carnival. It draws its name from the 12th day from Christmas, the night before the Epiphany, when the three wise men visited the infant Jesus, foretelling the revelation of God the Son being born as a human.

The Twelfth Night gathering is sponsored by the City of Biloxi, Biloxi Mardi Gras Museum and Gulf Coast Carnival Association.
See photos from Twelfth Night, 2016

 

News and notes

The rivers: The Tchoutacabouffa, Biloxi and Wolf rivers have all crested. Here, for the record are the numbers: Tchoutacabouffa (flood stage of 8 feet) is now at 5.4 feet, the Biloxi (FS 12 feet) is now at 14.06 feet, and the Wold (FS 8 feet) is now at 9.87 feet. For links to the respective graphs, click here.

Oscar Renda update: Sure, they’ve faced their challenges with the torrential downpour over the past few days, but the workers at Oscar Renda Contracting were making progress in helping turn and dry out dirt in the east Biloxi infrastructure zone. So where were things before the rain began? Take a couple of minutes to look back at the Dec. 16 video of progress by clicking here.

City Council photos: Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday night honored the Margavich family for the untiring devotion of the Biloxi Lighthouse. Read what Gilich had to say and see photos from the meeting by clicking here.