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  • From the Editor
  • Elaine J. Lawless

The JAF staff has enjoyed working closely with Special Editor Carl Lindahl and the authors of this theme issue of JAF, "Southwestern Louisiana Mardi Gras Traditions," as we moved the manuscripts from their various draft stages to publishable articles for the journal. We acknowledge that our involvement with this theme issue, as well as several others in the months to come, has been rather late in the game. This issue was first accepted for JAF by my predecessor, Jack Santino. We are proud to offer it to our readers; the issue is a welcome addition to the scholarship on this topic. The articles address both Cajun and Creole traditions in southwestern Louisiana, including the "runs," masking and painted faces, and male and female participation. Some excellent photographs, provided by the contributors, enhance the discussions. We thank Carl Lindahl, Marcia Gaudet, Rocky Sexton, Carolyn Ware, Barry Jean Ancelet, Patricia Sawin, and Harry Oster for their hard work over the past several months to make the issue far better than it was first conceptualized. And readers will note that we have dedicated the issue to Harry Oster, who died as the issue went to print. Even those who may not have known him well will join us all in mourning the passing of one of our own.

Not all the authors represented in this issue are in agreement about the use of "black-face" and "whiteface" by many of the long-standing participants in Mardi Gras. The special editor of this issue, Carl Lindahl, has written a short essay addressing some of the differing opinions on this issue, and we have put his note into our new "Dialogues" section of the journal, with an invitation for readers to respond with their views in subsequent issues. The cultural, ethnic, and political implications of this entire issue bring exciting and provocative perspectives to the study of contemporary regional festivals. We welcome your responses.

Elaine J. Lawless
JAF
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