Costumes, Music And Spam -- Seattle's Fat Tuesday May Not Be As Wild, But It's Still A Treat

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Fat Tuesday, started last night and continues through Tuesday in Pioneer Square; joint cover to 16 participating nightspots, $5 weekdays, $8 weekends; some events also have admission fees; Fat Tuesday hotlines: 233-8975 or 421-KNDD. ----------------------------------------------------------------- It ain't New Orleans and it ain't Rio, but Fat Tuesday, Seattle's own version of Mardi Gras (which literally means "Fat Tuesday"), has its own unique, quaint charms.

The annual Pioneer Square pre-Lenten blowout is low-key and off-kilter, in the grand old tradition of Northwest originality and nuttiness. Its theme song may as well be "Louie Louie," which not only captures Fat Tuesday's slightly salacious wackiness but also seems to be played by every band in every club on every night of the week-long celebration.

New Orleans, where Mardi Gras is a legal holiday, may have Bourbon Street, King Rex and those trinket necklaces thrown from floats in the Mardi Gras Day parade, and Rio de Janeiro has Carnival, with all those fabulously elaborate costume parades and nonstop parties. But we have a Spam carving contest, a waiter/waitress race, a pub run and the Ms. No Fat beauty pageant!

In the beginning, Fat Tuesday was a lot wilder. The first one, a single-day affair on a warm, sunny Tuesday in 1977, caught city officials unawares and ran amuck. Daytime revelers took over the streets, stopped traffic and staged an impromptu parade up First Avenue to the Pike Place Market.

People hopped off buses, abandoned their cars and streamed out of office buildings to join in. The party went on all night, the streets were crammed, and every joint was jumping. It was great fun, like a rock festival in the streets.

But it frightened police and fire officials and, after a couple of tightly controlled - and boring - subsequent Fat Tuesdays, the idea was abandoned.

It was revived in the 1980s as a means of attracting more wintertime customers to Pioneer Square nightspots. The new Fat Tuesday was, and is, more family-friendly, with face-painting and other activities for children, and events aimed at good clean fun rather than revelry.

The new, nontoxic Fat Tuesday has replaced the original wild street parade with "The People's Procession," in which festively dressed marchers of all ages tramp through Pioneer Square, with prizes for the best costumes. Carousing is confined to the inside of nightclubs, instead of the streets.

The defining event of Fat Tuesday has become the Spam Carving Contest, in which sculptors, for a $5 entry fee, try to create art from the mystery meat, within a 15-minute time limit. Previous winners include "Spam Descending A Staircase" and "Spamhenge."

And the Waiter-Waitress Race is always fun, with some entrants showing amazing balancing skills with their trays, and others spilling everything.

But the best thing about Fat Tuesday is what Pioneer Square clubs offer nearly every night of the year - live music. With the joint cover, you can catch a lot of good music at a bargain price, in a festive atmosphere. Check out the Nightlife listings in today's Tempo for a complete list of bands playing tonight through Tuesday. Fat Tuesday highlights

Following are some selected Fat Tuesday events:

Today (Pirate Night)

7:30 p.m. - Decorating Party, with music by Made-in-the-Shade, New Orleans.

8:30 p.m. - Improvus Comicus, Comedy Underground.

9 p.m. - Reggae Night with the Ganja Farmers, Larry's.

10 p.m. - Electric Hell Fire Club, Fenix.

Tomorrow

12:30-1:30 p.m. - Mardi Gras Fashion Show, New Orleans.

8:30 p.m. - George Miller and Amy Alpine, Comedy Underground.

9:30 p.m. - Isaac Scott, Old Timers; Herbivores, Central.

Saturday

11 a.m. - Waiter/Waitress Race, Occidental Park.

11 a.m.-5 p.m. - Spam Carving Museum open, 301 S. Occidental Ave.

1 p.m.-3 p.m. - Spam Carving Contest, Occidental Avenue and Main Street.

5-9 p.m. - Phoenix Jazzers, New Orleans.

9:30 p.m. - Duffy Bishop, Doc Maynard's.

Sunday

Noon - Valentine's Performing Pigs, Occidental Park.

1 p.m. - People's Procession, Occidental Park.

3:30 p.m. - Pub Run, Larry's.

7 p.m. - Lip Sync & Talent Night, New Orleans.

8:30 p.m. - Lonnie Williams, Old Timers.

9 p.m. - Led Jaxson Invitational Jam, Larry's.

Monday

6:30 p.m. - New Orleans Quintet/Bally Hoo Tribute to Louis Armstrong, New Orleans.

8 p.m. - Ms. No Fat & Comedy Showcase, Comedy Underground.

9 p.m. - Blue Monday Jam & Showcase with Jaime Sheets, Central.

10 p.m. - Duffy Bishop, Fenix.

Fat Tuesday

6-10 a.m. - Breakfast with Crow & West, New Orleans.

Noon-2 p.m. - Ron Weinstein, New Orleans.

8 p.m. - File Gumbo Zydeco Band, New Orleans.

9 p.m. - Magic Bus, Doc Maynard's; Paul DeLay, Larry's.

10 p.m. - Jumbalassy, Fenix Underground.

Midnight - Fat Tuesday Grand Ball, Doc Maynard's.