Happy Mardi Gras, y'all! Tonight's the night. Are you going out to celebrate? Want some suggestions? Last week, we shared our round-up of local Mardi Gras doin's (plus some news about Carnaval) just as we were heading out of town for our own adventure in Galveston.

Austin's best and oldest Mardi Gras tradition, Carnaval Brasileiro, originally hatched by homesick Brazilian exchange students at UT in the mid-Seventies, has been the highlight of the Austin Samba School’s programming for the last 10 years. This year Susanna Sharpe & the Samba Police return to the Carnaval stage, Feb. 28, after a 15-year hiatus.

"Let the good times roll!"? Time to let out that belt notch, and let those belly rolls roll around in this food parade.

Our road trip/conversation with Wendy Colonna continues: A few weeks ago, as she and I each headed to separate gigs in Houston, we plugged in our blue teeth and commenced to chatting.

In New Orleans, king cakes are a regular feature of the Carnival season, showing up for the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th) and holding a place of honor at parties and celebrations through Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Lent begins.

The closest my people get to Mardi Gras is a spring holiday called Purim where, as saying has it, you’re to get so wasted that you can’t tell the difference between boys and girls. So, yeah, Jews basically invented shit-facery. You’re welcome.

There's a certain quality, one of them-thar je ne sais quois in Wendy Colonna's voice that sends writers skittering around to come up with unique ways to describe it. Margaret Moser already stamped it "smoky" and "alluring." Words like "soul" and "grit" and "honey" and "stomp" and "swamp" have served noble attempts.

Heading out on the Mardi Gras trail? First things, first: If you don't have a place to crash in a Mardi Gras town or have not yet booked a room, planning can be intimidating. Here are some websites and some hints to help you see what's out there.

Gay Mardi Gras is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma shrouded in mystery with a side of bafflement sprinkled with bitterness and devil-may-care. It's also a little elusive.