New Orlean's Mardi Gras

Festival Location: New Orleans, LA, USA

Festival State: Louisiana Festivals

Festival Type(s): Carnivals , Street Parades , Mardi Gras

Festival Photos of New Orlean's Mardi Gras: gallery 1 gallery 2

Festival Video: New Orlean's Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras Sneak Preview

by © Rosemary Basil 2008

Plan ahead for Mardi Gras, it is closer than you think!

Many people do not realize this, but Mardi Gras or rather, CARNIVAL, begins on January 6, the Epiphany, or Kings Day. The parties and parades begin on a very small but widespread scale until the climax on the Wednesday before Lent which is Fat Tuesday.

The majority of out of town visitors will arrive the weekend before but the week before there are parades every night and it is probably the best time to come to get better prices and fewer bawdiness.

People come to Mardi Gras for many reasons. There are the party animal college types who just want to get drunk and see nudity and there are those who have been coming for years, maybe have wild memories and just like the flamboyant thrill of it all. There are many international visitors and there are many who drive from bordering states. Some stay at the priciest most elegant suites like the Fairmont or Montelleone, others camp in RV's at Mardi Gras campgrounds outside the city. Expect to pay MUCH more than you normally would and book well in advance. There are smaller bed and breakfasts available too, but nothing is cheap during Carnival time! BOOK EARLY!

I generally tell people to leave the kids home or at least not bring them down to the Quarter because drunken crowds are unpredictable and can be dangerous, not to mention the lewd acts you may see. It has been getting worse despite the fact that nudity is really against the law. Cops make hundreds of arrests every year, that's how the city lines its pockets. Cars are towed away and you have to pay considerably to get them back. You can't use most public rest rooms unless you are a paying customer, and if you guys use a doorway you may get your a** carted off to jail so think twice. I have fun hosing idiots who use my door as a urinal . Be considerate.

Not to be too negative, the parades are beautiful and catching beads is fun. You can buy some down here (or order on the web) to throw yourself but mainly you will want to stand on St. Charles or Canal where the parades pass to catch your own. There is no rule to expose yourself, that has become mainly a tourist exploitation, we locals don't usually waste our time unless we are strippers who often get hired to do so on Bourbon Street balconies. Of course you will see plenty of guys filming them! Myself, now a-daze, I think girls are really stupid to risk seeing their photos on the internet where they are sold in videos - unless you want it to come back and haunt you someday I would think twice. NOT always easy after a few cocktails, I know!

We locals stand on our balconies and laugh at it all. It's quite a theatrical show and the costumes on Mardi Gras Day are beautiful.

Check out Rosemary's personal site at http://www.rosemarybasil.com and her site devoted to New Orleans at http://www.neworleansalive.com

by Rosemary Basil

Festival Photos of New Orlean's Mardi Gras: gallery 1 gallery 2