Fifty-three members of River Parishes Hospital’s Senior Friends Program enjoyed a chartered bus trip to New Orleans to have breakfast at the Ruby Slipper Restaurant and tour Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World – the place where Mardi Gras magic is brought to life.

The group headed to downtown New Orleans to have breakfast at the café, which is known for its traditional breakfast favorites and was voted one of the best breakfast spots by Gambit readers in the 2010 Best of New Orleans poll. After breakfast, members traveled to Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World for a first-hand look at Mardi Gras in the making.

Since 1947, Blaine Kern Studios has been as much a part of Carnival as the parades New Orleans loves. Members received an insider’s appreciation of the history and traditions of carnival and were able to observe artists sculpture and floatbuilding.