Fat Tuesday is supposed to be the last hurrah before Lent. Prior to entering that season of self-restraint, we get a free pass (of sorts) to engage in as much debauchery as possible. In extreme New Orleans, the party rages all day and night long. Chilly Rochester doesn't really measure up. But the Mardi Gras Mingle in the South Wedge did its best to at least gild everyone in beads and keep them in a mid-winter, spring-is-around-the-corner Mardi Gras spirit.

I showed up at Lux just before the pub crawl crowd arrived from down the street. Some wore green and purple masks, all of them had beads, and some were even sporting elaborate necklaces obviously collected from years past. An events coordinator gave out handsome silver Heineken beads, and some light-up Corona ones dotted the place as well.

Part of the idea of the "mingle" was to collect a Scrabble tile from each participating bar, and whoever ended up with the highest-scoring word would win a prize. At Lux, one group of people had already received a "z" - worth ten points - and seemed ready to quit then and there.

I had good intentions of following the crowd to the next stops - Beale Street, the Keg, Caverly's - but some reps from Planned Parenthood showed up, and I found myself recruited to help hand out armfuls of brightly colored beads adorned with "Make Love Safely" condom-holding packets. People clamored for the beads, and some looked confused as they tried to get the things to light up. Then they realized they were squeezing a condom on a necklace.

It was around then that my date showed up from band practice, and we headed elsewhere to continue the fun. But instead, the night turned dark; when we broke off from the South Wedge crowd to continue our bar hop from Dub Land to Monty's Korner to the Montage, we discovered his amplifier had been stolen from his car. Proving everyone comes out on Mardi Gras...even the riffraff.