Mardi Gras: Viewer Indiscretion Advised

Fat Tuesday parties ready to roll in Chicago

At first glance, it seems that with the holidays and the awards seasons officially over, all major excuses to indulge in delightfully hedonistic activities have been exhausted.

However, a closer look at the calendar reveals that one more indulgence -- and the most delectable one -- is left. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for Mardi Gras.

As the most festive day of the year, Mardi Gras celebrates anything hopelessly addictive, senselessly decadent, and outrageously pleasurable. So whether you like boys, girls, or both, here are just some of the events going on in Chicago this Fat Tuesday.

  • Sidetrack: The hardest bodies in Boystown will be working their butts on the bar counters to give patrons something to look up to, literally. A body spray-paint artist will be around to help anyone who might have come a little unprepared but then had a change of heart—and outfit, upon arrival. Admission is free.
  • The Spot: The Flaming Dames will be helping patrons usher in Fat Tuesday with their Bourbon Street Burlesque. Sexy, sassy and shamelessly seductive, the smokin' ladies will be sure to stick to their mantra of "rocking out and taking it off!" Is it just us, or is it getting hot in here? Admission is $15.
  • Blue Bayou: The burgundy-lips-smacking ladies of Vaudezilla, including the pipin' Red Hot Annie, will be performing at the locals-favorite venue. Following a performance by the Daryl Coutts Band, the ladies will appear and the room temperature will quickly rise. All of a sudden, fogged-up windows will become your friend. Admission is free.
  • Kit Kat Lounge: Turning up the heat in Chicago will be the reigning queens of all things diva, daring and drop-dead-gorgeous, led by the legendary Traci Ross. A sizzling New Orleans-style selection of dishes and an endless list of glass-licking-good martinis will be the perfect fit for the masquerade ball. Like the drinks themselves, this event promises to have a generous splash of sexy and a strong scent of sticky sweetness that will have you wanting more. Admission is free.

Go to any of the above listings, and you too will have no problem keeping to the one Mardi Gras pre-condition: that this will be the end of such behavior for the rest of the year. Unless, of course, a holiday or an awards show comes along.

Shlomi Rabi is a member of the NBC Chicago Street Team.

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