Mardi Gras advice is everywhere. Indeed, there are whole special magazine advertising sections created about this holiday. As far as we are concerned you can't go wrong no matter what you do. Pick a street & dive in. Just be careful.
Carnival season officially begins in early January & ends sometime in February or March with Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday can take place on any day between February 3rd & March 9th since Mardi Gras is always scheduled 47 days before Easter.
In 2010 Fat Tuesday is on February 16th.
The mythology behind the event has to do with giving up meat before Lent, mystic parading Krewes of rich southerners in masks, Native Americans, antiquity & any other thing people can think up on the spot. The last two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday are busy with parades & parties, which, contrary to popular misconception, are largely family oriented much like church carnivals & county fairs all across the United States.
And this is a real holiday -- not some corporate festival or half-assed Halloween drunkery. On Mardi Gras day, the post office, city hall, banks and schools are closed.
Our suggestions:
-The Krew du Vieux
parade is one of two parades that go through
the French Quarter. The parade is known for its middle-aged penis jokes and large use of brass bands. (Okay! Maybe Mardi Gras isn't so much
like a church carnival, but it isn't all the frat boy puke fest you see
on TV, either.)
-The other parade that rolls through the Quarter is the Mystic Krewe of Barkus. Barkus, which starts at Armstrong Park, is for dogs. No, really.
-Our favorite "mainstream" parade is Muses.
-The weekend before Mardi Gras, Mr. Quintron
opens up the basement of his home (3052 St. Claude Ave) for a "ball" featuring
himself, Miss Pussycat other musicians who lean experimental.
-Lundi Gras (Fat Monday) can be just as fun as Fat Tuesday. The highlight (for many) of this night is the parade of the punk/anarchist/fire breathing Krewe du Poux down around Frenchmen Street. Poux starts somewhere in the Bywater, we think. That same night the Krewe of Proteus parades down St. Charles. It is one of the most traditional Mardi Gras parades with floats rambling down the street on wooden wheels and themes that dip into obscure fantasy.
-Mardi Gras day around the African-American neighborhood of Treme & the 7th Ward
is a blast. There you will see the Mardi Gras Indians in elaborate
beaded costumes that have been painstakingly sowed for the past year.
The action centers around the Claiborne Bridge. If you're hungry -- and Mardi Gras is a horrible day to eat out -- this is the place to get good BBQ.
-There
is a point on Mardi Gras day when the French Quarter is suddenly
flooded by costumes that are just a little more elaborate & music
that is just a little bit brighter. That means that the Krewe of Saint Anne
has made it to the Quarter. Saint Anne starts its slow (too disorganized for us) walking parade
in the Bywater and then takes Royal Street to the Quarter, stopping at
various bars along the way. After stopping at Royal & Canal
Streets, to watch the Krewe of Rex
pass, it then steps gracefully to the parade's terminus: the east bank
of the Mississippi River. As the masked crowd sings hymns, the last
wish of past members -- one more Mardi Gras with Saint Anne --
terminates, and their ashes are let go into the river.
-Local public television broadcasts the meeting of the courts of Comus
and Rex. The telecast starts at 8pm or so. It's almost impossible to
describe, meeting the standards of boredom and absurity that Warhol
achieved in his films.
-The Society of St. Cecilia parades down Chartres Street from the Marigny into the Quarter and is a more organized version of Saint Anne.
Tips:
-Don't schedule. The worst thing you can do is chase fun instead of letting the fun come to you. You may bust your ass trying to find the Zulu parade when Zulu is in fact three hours late. Meeting people at certain times in certain places is also hopeless. If all else fails, find a street corner and a beer and stick.
-If you've had a good Mardi Gras, it's best to pack it in at dusk. Mardi Gras night is very sloppy and oddly sinister.
-Do not drive.
-Do not pee on the street, even if it means wetting your pants.
