Tuesday will be a day of celebration...

Tuesday will be a day of celebration in Long Beach. It will be Fat Tuesday, in Carnaval parlance, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the somber Lenten season. Tuesday night will be the King and Queen Masquerade Ball, the opening event in a series leading to the fourth annual Long Beach Carnaval festival and parades May 25 and 26.

A new Carnaval king and queen will be crowned at the costume ball to reign over the Carnaval period. Sponsors expect 18 to 20 competitors, who have to register in advance. However, last-minute entrants will be accepted through Monday, according to Pat Phillips, public relations director of the sponsoring Downtown Long Beach Associates. The entry fee is $25 a person or $45 a couple, which includes admission to the ball. Last year there were eight entrants, five women and three men.

Carnaval ’90 king Don Pasco and queen Jackie Sherlock are seeking to retain their crowns. Pasco and Sherlock entered as a couple last year, with an entourage that included a prince and princess, fan bearers and an attendant to arrange the train from Sherlock’s costume. This year, Pasco’s arm is in a sling, and he is trying to figure how to disguise it with his costume. Pasco, a theatrical costume designer in Long Beach, broke a shoulder recently when a bolt of material fell on him in a warehouse. Sherlock is a skin care specialist at a Naples beauty shop.

A panel of seven judges will be chosen to evaluate entrants’ costumes, which typically consist of colorful feathers, sequins, jewelry, fancy headpieces and masks. Contestants also will be judged on their enthusiasm, personality and public speaking ability. The new king and queen will win prizes worth more than $1,000 each and will ride a float in the Carnaval parades.

Besides the king and queen pageant, ball entertainment will include food, dancing, reggae music, a fire-eater performance and a fantasy fashion show by Special Edition Company, which performs at Viva El Paso. The eight-member dance troupe from Texas will include a “Phantom of the Opera” ballet and a jazz number in its show. Interspersed between sets of the hourlong show will be fashion displays by a troupe of two dozen local models, demonstrating costumes ranging from Robocop to King Arthur’s court, promoters said.

The King and Queen Masquerade Ball, with a Caribbean theme, will be from 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday in the Grand Ballroom of the Ramada Renaissance Hotel, 111 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Participants must wear a costume or formal evening attire and mask. Prizes are offered for the most attractive and innovative costumes. Tickets are $25 and may be reserved by calling 436-7794. About 250 people attended last year; sponsors hope for more than 500 this year.