New Orleans, LA – For many people, New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi Gras and a lot of people think of the raucous Bourbon Street madness that is often the focus of media attention. We spent two weeks visiting New Orleans including an entire week leading up to Mardi Gras. We can confirm that the Bourbon Street madness is real, but it is only a small piece of Mardi Gras in New Orleans which is overwhelmingly family friendly. From the MardiGrasNewOrleans.com website: “At this time of year, the French Quarter is simply an adult area where the risque behavior of many visitors is tolerated; i.e., revealing costumes and flashing for beads. You do NOT have to visit the French Quarter to enjoy Mardi Gras.” Mardi Gras celebrations are part of the basis of the New Orleans slogan “Laissez les bons temps rouler” which is translated “Let the good times roll”.
Bourbon Street in the French Quarter gets the most media attention during Mardi Gras
Carnival celebration (the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras Day) in the French Quarter gets rowdier as the day progresses including skimpy outfits, drunken behavior, and the offering of beads from balconies for flashing body parts. Most days the French Quarter was much tamer and emptier prior to 4pm, which allowed for calmer morning sightseeing.
According to Wikipedia, Mardi Gras refers to the “events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.” While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of traditionally ethnic French cities and regions in the country have notable celebrations. While in New Orleans, check out the Presbytere Museum located at Jackson Square next to St. Louis Cathedral that has an exhibit entitled: Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana. The exhibit offers a window into the annual celebration and rituals of Mardi Gras, a festival that is inextricably woven into Louisiana’s way of life and whose roots extend deep into the Middle Ages. The exhibit includes parade floats, costumes, and historical throws on display as well as rare glimpses into the secretive social club society from which modern-day Mardi Gras krewes evolved.
A ball gown on display at the Presbytere Museum Mardi Gras exhibit
The first Mardi Gras parade held in New Orleans is recorded to have taken place in 1837. The tradition in New Orleans expanded to the point that it became synonymous with the city in popular perception, and embraced by residents of New Orleans beyond those of French or Catholic heritage. On Mardi Gras Day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the last parades of the season wrap up and the celebrations come to a close with the Meeting of the Courts (known locally as the Rex Ball). Mardi Gras Day is always 47 days before Easter, so the date can fall anywhere from February 3rd through March 10. There are parades in the entire region and in New Orleans for the entire Carnival season which includes several weeks leading up to Mardi Gras with multiple parades every day for at least the two weeks prior.
St. Louis Cathedral Float in the Rex parade
Each parade is put on by a “Krewe” (pronounced “crew”) which is a social club/organization that puts on a parade and/or ball for the Carnival season. Krewe members are assessed fees in order to pay for the parade or ball. Fees can range from thousands of dollars a year per person for the most elaborate parades to as little as $20 a year for smaller clubs. Criteria for krewe membership varies similarly, ranging from exclusive organizations largely limited to relatives of previous members to other organizations open to anyone able to pay the membership fee. Krewes with low membership fees may also require members to work to help build and decorate the parade floats and make their own costumes; higher priced krewes hire professionals to do this work. For a close-up look at the construction of the elaborate floats, take a tour of Mardi Gras World while in New Orleans. Parading krewe members are usually responsible for buying their own throws, the trinkets thrown to parade spectators according to New Orleans tradition. The krewes often hold other social events throughout the year as well. Balls are usually private affairs and require an invitation.
Parade floats are on display year round at Mardi Gras World
We opted to attend 3 formal parade events: 1) an evening parade which included the Krewes of Hermes, D’Etat, and Morpheus, 2) another evening parade put on by the Super Krewe of Bacchus, and 3) the Mardi Gras Day parades of Zulu and Rex. Each parade also includes marching bands, dancing groups and walking groups which are placed between each of their floats. A super krewe is defined by their size (over a thousand members), spectacular floats, and celebrity riders. The parades we attended traveled through the Central Business District. Bacchus has had national celebrities be the Bacchus King for their parades since 1969. The list is impressive with the likes of Drew Brees, Ron Howard, William Shatner, Hugh Lurie, Harry Connick Jr, and Bob Hope. This year’s Bacchus King was JK Simmons (think Farmer’s Insurance ads).
The Baccha-gator Float
Another Bacchus float features the crawfish
Throws from the Hermes, Morpheus, and Krewe D’Etat parades
A parade float
A Krewe D’Etat Float
Bagpipers march in a Mardi Gras Parade
The 610 Stompers were a crowd favorite. Their slogan is: “Ordinary Men. Extraordinary Dance Moves”
Rex: King of Carnival (founded 1872) is considered an old line Carnival Krewe which stages one of the most celebrated parades. Rex is Latin for “King”, and Rex reigns as “The King of Carnival”. The Rex parade included over 30 floats. Each float had a theme and had special necklace throws that matched the theme as well as other beads and doubloons (imprinted coins).
The Rex float theme necklace throws and a golden Rex doubloon (on left)
Parade lieutenants ride horses and are spread out through each parade
Southern University was one of the many marching bands parading. Bands come from all over the country to march and include high school, college, and military groups.
Tulane’s Marching Band
One of the military cadet groups marching in the Rex Parade
Marines in the parade
The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club (founded 1916) is a Carnival Krewe which puts on the Zulu parade each Mardi Gras Day. Zulu is New Orleans’ largest predominantly African American carnival organization known for its blackfaced krewe members wearing grass skirts and its unique throw of hand-painted coconuts. Float throws included beads and balls.
Zulu costumes are quite elaborate and include blackface
Another Zulu parade costume
A parade attendee displays her Zulu coconut and beads
Throws collected during the parades we watched
There are many other krewes in New Orleans. The Mystic Krewe of Nyx is named for the goddess of the night, one of the most powerful goddesses who represents the dark light that falls from the stars is known for their specially decorated purses. The Krewe of Muses, formed in 2001, is distinguished as the first all-female Mardi Gras krewe to parade at night in uptown New Orleans. In Greek mythology, the Muses are the nine daughters of Zeus. No festivity in Olympus was considered complete without their joy-inspiring presence, and on earth no fine art, scientific, or intellectual endeavor was undertaken without humbly seeking their inspiration. Muses are known for specially decorated shoes.
Muse shoes on display at the Presbytere Museum
Our other favorite find was the Mystic Krewe of Barkus whose parade is literally for the dogs. Barkus was founded in 1993 and has included themes such as Bark Wars: Return of the K-9; Tails & Tiaras, Here Comes Honey Bow Wow; Batmutt: The Barkus Knight; and Indiana Bones and Raiders of the Lost Bark. Their 2018 theme was Game of Bones.
These cool dogs were hanging out on Bourbon Street during Carnival, hopefully they know about the Mystic Krewe of Barkus
Typical attendance for Mardi Gras in New Orleans is about 1.4 million people. We visited New Orleans by RV and stayed at Pontchartrain Landing. Pontchartrain’s rate doubles during the week of Mardi Gras. We booked in June and had to pay a 100% deposit at the time of our booking. If you don’t have an RV, there are many hotels in New Orleans. Most of the Central Business District and French Quarter hotels require a four to five day minimum stay, and they steadily book blocks of rooms beginning in August. Make your reservations early as hotels are often solidly booked by December. While in New Orleans we also toured the French Quarter and visited the National WWII Museum and the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
A tree along a parade route the day after Mardi Gras
