Celebrations Louisiana

A man involved in a fistfight stepped out of a crowd Monday as a Martin Luther King Day parade marched past and shot another man to death, wounding three children who were in his way. "We have a suspect, but not in hand," Police Chief Greg Phares told reporters. He said the gunman and all of his victims were black. "It appears there was no racial or political or hate-crime motive. It appears to have stemmed from a personal dispute."

Beau Bassich doesn't want to sit in his antique parlor today. He wants to roll. It's Mardi Gras, the last day of the wild carnival season. And members of Bassich's private social club--the Mystic Krewe of Comus--should be wearing masks, riding on floats and hurling a sky full of plastic beads to the thousands of people squeezed along the city's boulevards.

Beau Bassich doesn't want to sit in his antique parlor today. He wants to roll. It's Mardi Gras, the last day of the wild carnival season. And members of Bassich's private social club--the Mystic Krewe of Comus--should be wearing masks, riding on floats and hurling a sky full of plastic beads to the thousands of people squeezed along the city's boulevards.

A man involved in a fistfight stepped out of a crowd Monday as a Martin Luther King Day parade marched past and shot another man to death, wounding three children who were in his way. "We have a suspect, but not in hand," Police Chief Greg Phares told reporters. He said the gunman and all of his victims were black. "It appears there was no racial or political or hate-crime motive. It appears to have stemmed from a personal dispute."

The Festivals Acadiens, a celebration of Cajun and zydeco music, Cajun and Creole food and native crafts, marks its 18th anniversary Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Lafayette, the heart of French Louisiana. The event, which draws about 100,000 visitors, is actually a combination of several festivals, including the Festival de Musique Acadienne, which began as a three-hour concert in 1974 and now offers nonstop music over the three days.

Mr. Sarcasm on the phone wanted to know what I thought of Jim Everett now. . . . I think what I've always thought of Jim Everett. . . . He is capable of a lousy game one week and a big game the next one and he does some of his best work in the state of Texas when least expected. . . . On Sunday, he completed 19 of 28 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-13 victory over the defensive forces of Buddy Ryan at Houston a week after the Rams lost to the Giants at the Meadowlands. . . .

The Festivals Acadiens, a celebration of Cajun and zydeco music, Cajun and Creole food and native crafts, marks its 18th anniversary Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Lafayette, the heart of French Louisiana. The event, which draws about 100,000 visitors, is actually a combination of several festivals, including the Festival de Musique Acadienne, which began as a three-hour concert in 1974 and now offers nonstop music over the three days.