Mardi Gras Edition

With Mardi Gras under our belt, something on everyone’s mind is how to make New Orleans’ carnival more sustainable. In recent years, there has been a dedicated effort to make our city cleaner and greener.

It’s hard enough trying to explain New Orleans Mardi Gras much less describe Washington Mardi Gras. Since the 1940s, the Mystick Krewe of Louisianians has brought the pageantry and revelry of Carnival to our nation’s capital. Born when air travel was less easy, the Louisiana congressional delegation decided to bring the festivities to Washington.

The changes to the Metairie parade route this year bring to mind the history of Jefferson Parish’s Carnival.

Is your Mardi Gras costume ready?

ArcGNO has a unique take on supporting the community by turning a New Orleans tradition into wage-earning jobs for adults with disabilities. Employees and volunteers collect, sort and repackage Mardi Gras throws year-round.

With Mardi Gras falling two to three months after Christmas depending on the year, many New Orleanians keep their Christmas trees up and swap their red and green decorations for purple and gold ornaments on the feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6).

For more than 50 years, the Krewe of Bacchus has made its definitive mark on Mardi Gras. This year’s parade theme, “Starring Louisiana,” will bring Hollywood South alive, as Bacchus honors some of the movies and TV shows filmed or set in Louisiana over the years.

Every carnival season, there’s always something new and fabulous to wear to Mardi Gras. That infamous (but otherwise tacky) swirl of purple, green and gold pops up in surprising ways.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the loss of a local landmark, which was particularly connected to Carnival history: the French Opera House. Built at Bourbon and Toulouse Streets in 1859, it was the center of the city’s cultural life for more than 60 years.

Shopping local is a priority for many New Orleanians. Plush Appeal – The Mardi Gras Spot is a second-generation, family-owned business located in the heart of Mid-City.

It’s Carnival time! Mardi Gras season is synonymous with king cake season. The king cake tradition is thought to have been brought to New Orleans from France in 1870, and like many cultural traditions, has its roots in Christianity.

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Caillot Circle – a membership community for young professionals between the ages of 21 and 45 – welcomed the Carnival with a festive bash on Jan. 6.

2019 marks the 60th anniversary of Mardi Gras’ anthem – Al Johnson’s “Carnival Time.” He recorded the song in December 1959 at Cosimo Matassa’s studio. It was released in time for Mardi Gras 1960.

When a feather boa flies off a float during a parade, everyone’s hands automatically go up. But, do you know how these feathery delights are made?

After an early carnival season in 2018, Mardi Gras 2019 will fall on Tuesday, March 5. Even though you might have to wait until March for Endymion, Bacchus, Orpheus, Zulu and Rex, the first parades start rolling earlier.

Whether navigating parade routes or knowing exactly when the parade will arrive, the most important things you need to know during Mardi Gras are parade schedules, routes, traffic, weather and news updates. You can get them all in one place on your phone.

In less than a month, the Krewe of Bacchus celebrates its 50th anniversary. But the parade that changed so much in Carnival isn’t just looking back. It’s also thinking big, with two new floats.

For years I went out of town for Mardi Gras because realistically, it is challenging to get work done among the distractions. About five years ago, I decided to re-immerse myself in Carnival, even starting my own tradition – Lundi Gras lunch at the Hotel Monteleone. Here my personal and business lives collide, bringing together a diverse group that now reconnects each year.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Mardi Gras is secrecy, especially when it comes to krewe themes and monarchs which typically aren’t publicized until the day of their respective balls and parades.

Mardi Gras crowds make the parades hard to miss, but the city’s other culture becomes more hidden than ever. The solution? Learn on the go. 

In New Orleans, costuming isn’t just for Halloween night. As New Orleanians, we’ll look for any excuse to break into our costume closet. 

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There are more than 60 Carnival krewes, but few have emerged as super krewes. With bright, intricate floats carrying thousands of riders, super krewes are experts in putting on a show.

One unique, long-held tradition in many balls involves certain ladies being issued a “call-out” card. If a debutante or lady guest is fortunate enough to receive one, she gets a reserved seat. She then waits her turn to be “called out” for a dance with a masked krewe member who sent her the card prior to the ball.

While many of us know her work, we may not know we know it. Patricia Hardin is responsible for the magnificent invitations for many of the most elegant Mardi Gras balls in New Orleans.

What began with rowdy street parades in the early 1800s has evolved into the opulent, illuminated floats we know today – these parades usually conclude with a ball of some sort.

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If you’re a local, you’re familiar with the public, working studio that holds some of Carnival’s magic. Within the walls of Mardi Gras World lies an operating workshop comprising the heart-stopping floats of many international fêtes, including Mardi Gras.

Did you know that Mardi Gras was suspended during World War II? More surprising than that, when it returned in 1946, the famous flambeaux didn’t participate.