New Orleans Mardi Gras parades date back to 1857. Many people attend Mardi Gras. Fewer people participate as members of a krewe, and still fewer work year-round as artists and float builders. My cousin McKinley "Mackie" J. Cantrell, III was one of the artists and builders who worked full-time to bring Mardi Gras to life. A third-generation float builder, Mackie's grandfather began building floats during the Great Depression. By the mid-70s, "Big Mac" Cantrell had his own company, called McKinley J. Cantrell and Son and was captain of his own parade, the Krewe of Mardi Gras. Cantrell Floats lives on today, but Mackie died suddenly two days after Christmas in 2021. He was forty-seven. He was more of a brother to me, a mentor, who took me on to work with him for an entire year of Carnival preparation in 2011-12. This book is a telling of all my great memories of Mackie. It is a rare glimpse into New Orleans life from an artist's perspective. As Mackie would say, "It's a true story, stab-ah." "The Cantrell family has a long history with Mardi Gras, dating back to the Great Depression. Their legacy is quite impressive. In The Mayor of Mardi Gras: A Memoir, Gregory Fischer shares fond memories and photos of Mackie Cantrell, his cousin - best friend - and honorary brother. Every page is a tribute to the man Gregory lost just two short days after Christmas 2021. If you ever have lost someone, you know the pain Mackie's friends and family have experienced and probably are still experiencing. I didn't know Mackie, but I felt like I did through Gregory's storytelling. " -Kameron Brook, Reedsy Discovery "Gregory Fischer is a great storyteller with the extraordinary ability to write about human emotion in detail. The Mayor of Mardi Gras: A Memoir will strike strong chords in readers who have loved and lost while offering immense entertainment to those who adore parades. It is rich in human emotion, brilliantly capturing the sense of loss while paying tribute to a man that lived with purpose. This book is a wonderful memoir with a fully drawn hero who will inspire creativity in readers. " -Bertin Drizller, The Book Commentary "Fischer, his cousin, tells Cantrell's story and recounts the history of the family business but focuses in on his own memories of this generous man . . . The information about Cantrell is consistently engaging , as is the author's account of the business side of the celebration of Mardi Gras." - Kirkus Reviews "Moving Tribute" - Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide Author Greg Fischer is a former Editor-In-Chief of the Weekly Citizen in Gonzales, Louisiana, The Chief in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and the Post-South in Plaquemine, Louisiana, and contributor to The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans, Louisiana. He holds bachelor degrees in Creative Writing and Journalism from Louisiana State University. He attended graduate school for Professional Writing at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Gambit creative writing journal for students. He is currently studying professional copy editing at New York University's School of Professional Studies and is the owner of Make It Write, a publishing services company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he resides with his wife and stepchildren.