Carnaval de Dunkerque

Can someone please tell me why I woke up singing "We are the World." My favorite part was always Cyndi Lauper, you know the part where she goes "Wo wo wo wooooo"? My best friend and I used to sing it together when we were little, splitting the song between the two of us each of us singing our chosen lines. I always got Cyndi and Tina and she always got Michael Jackson and Willy Nelson. Who do you think got the better part?

Anyway, the point of today's post was not about 80's culture in suburban New Jersey but about carnaval culture in Northern France which I missed once again this year. When someone mentions carnival or mardi-gras, what do you think of? New Orleans, Venice, Rio, half-naked women and lots of alcohol? Would you even think of Dunkirk, that grey, forgotten city bombed out during WW2 that has few redeeming factors beyond being on the coast (I appologize if I've offended anyone)? The Carnaval de Dunkerque is synonymos with cross-dressing, beer guzzling, loud songs full of sexual innuendos and fish throwing (see picture). Can you think of any other major city whose mayor throws fresh seafood from the city hall every year? Now tell me that doesn't sound cool....

If you want to know more about being ch'ti, you should go see the new Dany Boon movie called "Bienvenue chez les Cht'i" all about the North. And who said the North had nothing to offer? Some would say that the North of France is even the center of the universe with all the highways, international high speed train lines, and ports nearby. Then again...