By Stephanie Sommers
The King arrived at 9 pm on Friday. By then it had become apparent when I asked various Niçois what happens on the King arrival that a lot of locals have never actually attended the Carnival. They all know the history: The King’s arrival commences the Carnival, and at the end of the Carnival (in two weeks) the King is taken out to the sea and burned so that he can rise up from the ashes the following year. But everyone was vague on the details.
What actually happens, I discovered last night, is this: There is a huge party staged in Place Massena with two enormous floats – the King and the Queen – that come from the direction of the large shopping street, Avenue Jean Medécin. The square is packed with revelers; confetti and Silly String are thrown about in huge quantities. Everyone is in a festive mood and dances in the middle of the square to the pop music blaring from loudspeakers.
Quite a few of the revelers were masked. I asked one of them why and they said that this year the theme, The King of Masquerades, was an invitation to hide your identity and become someone else. This made it impossible to resist dancing and frolicking in the streets with perfect strangers. My friends and I made the most of it. Then suddenly we all realized that the King and Queen were bearing down on us, and we were in a panic as we all tried to make way for the giant floats to pass. As they passed by, you could see that there were masked people in costume inside the floats, waving and throwing confetti and spraying the crowds with Silly String. At first I wondered where all the Silly String was coming from but after the parade I saw a few street vendors still hawking the stuff. I am still picking bits of it off my clothes this morning.
Trailing after the floats were various semi-organized groups in costumes, including a gaggle of children and some acrobats who danced in the streets. The whole experience reminded me of an exotic New Years Eve in Times Square, and for a few hours strangers from all over danced, laughed, and sprayed each other with Silly String. It was fantastic.
This afternoon, Saturday, the festivities continue with the Flower Parade along the Promenade des Anglais. My friends and I have bought tickets for the stands in order to get a good view – there will be various flower parades throughout the next few weeks but I have heard that the first one is the best. Until then…