MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Mardi Gras, which refers to the events of carnival celebrations before Ash Wednesday varies from city to city. The festival’s popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, sports events and parades.
For Iwakuni, the evening’s festivities started with extravagant make-up, fake eyelashes, colorful outfits, metallic pumps, and feathered masks. Men dressed to impress or threw on a jersey to represent their favorite football teams. For one night, station members got to dress up, put on a mask and be someone else, and they came together to celebrate the New Orleans’ tradition of Mardi Gras at Club Iwakuni here Feb. 20.
“How do I look?” said Lance Cpl. Mornic Davis as she prepared for the celebration. Her dress was purple and yellow, traditional Mardi Gras colors, which she wore with black leggings, silver stiletto pumps and a matching silver mask.
A few moments later a group of Marines piled into a cab and headed to the club. There they would find purple, yellow, and green bead necklaces, feathered masks and balloons that adorned both the landing zone and the ball room.
“There’s a little something for everyone,” said Lance Cpl. Dameli Cordero. “They’ve got hip-hop in one room, Latin music in one and a live band in the other.”
Along with the variety of music, Club Iwakuni also provided guests with free popcorn, snack food, and dessert.
By midnight, the dance floors were packed with little room to move while people of all ages showed off their dancing skills ranging from break dancing to salsa and bachata.
“I love to dance,” said Lance Cpl. Hewan Musie. “Tonight has been a lot of fun. For the most part, I stay on the Latin side, but it’s nice to have the option of checking out the other rooms to see what going on over there.”
Through out the night, station members didn’t slow down for a second. They kept up the dancing and didn’t miss a beat until around 2 a.m. when the festivities secured.