By Kris Nordstrom McBride The 5 OClock Phlock Coconut Telegr February 21, 2025

Are you ready for some Mardi Gras PHun? Grab your colors – purple, green and gold, of course – and join the 5 O’Clock Phlock Parrot Head Club this week for a family friendly celebration right here in our community! 

This Thursday, February 27th you’ll find our Phlock at 202 Main in downtown Conroe for our annual Mardi Gras themed happy hour from 5-7 p.m. After the freezing cold spell we’ve just experienced, the warmer weather predicted for this week should be perfect for our party. If it warms sufficiently, we’ll be in their Courtyard. If the weather betrays us, 202 will simply move us inside. One way or the other, there will be a party for all to enjoy. Our Happy Hours are always open to the public, and we love guests, including the young ones. Heck, the kids are the best dancers! 

Our Jammin’ DJs Richard and Michael have their set list ready with a nice mix of Cajun, a little bit of rock n roll, and of course our beloved Jimmy Buffett’s own original music – and some great covers – celebrating Mardi Gras along his beloved Gulf Coast. There will be prizes for the best dressed and the crowning of our HH King and Queen (also known as the best dressed couple) and just an all around good time for all. 

If you know Parrot Heads, you know there will be something else going on – we always “Party With A Purpose”. Our designated charity for this party is a new one for us. We’re asking everyone to bring new and gently used Hawaiian shirts for both men and women for our first “Heroes in Hawaiian Shirts” collection effort. These shirts will be sent to the nonprofit Hawaiian Shirts for Deployed Soldiers. Started in March of 2017 by Gwen Pollard of South Carolina, the first shirts gathered were sent to her son’s fellow soldiers, who were deployed with him in a combat zone with the 101st Airborne Division. To quote Gwen “Stress levels were high, but a silly Hawaiian shirt broke through the tension, and made them laugh. It was a light in the darkness… there were approximately 300 soldiers near him, so I began a project to collect a Hawaiian shirt for each of them. Each shirt would have a thank you note tucked into the front pocket, to let our heroes know how much we appreciate them.” 

Gwen’s friends jumped aboard, and the effort soon went viral. How cool is this? Check out their Face Book page and their website at www.hawaiianshirtsfordeployedsoldiers.org.

So, get to work! Look through your closets for those too small/too big Hawaiian style shirts and bring them to us. Check the resale shops too.  Help us help them smile. 

Mark your calendars for March 17th for The St Patrick’s Day Walking Parade Around The Square in downtown Conroe, in memory of Parade Founders Mike McDougal, Pat Green and David Anderson. This is the 27th year of the parade, which begins and ends at The Corner Pub. Led by our bagpiper, we gather together to make a joyful noise – whistles, drums, bells, tambourines, kazoos, pretty much anything. If you don’t want to walk the square with us, line up along the route to cheer us on.

After the parade, we gather at The Corner Pub for music and food, courtesy of  The Corner Pub and our club. Drink specials too. We collect new socks for Montgomery County Youth Service, so start buying those now. We’ll have much more on the parade next week. 

Kris is President of The 5 O’Clock Phlock Parrot Head Club, the PHC of the Lake Conroe/Woodlands area. Email to KrisCommService@gmail.com or text 713 825-0141. Follow the club on Facebook at www.facebook.com/5OClockPhlock. For more info, visit the website www.5oclockphlock.com. 

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