Campbell & Bryce
Mardi Gras Info
What is Mardi Gras
As mentioned above, Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to the final day of Carnival in the Catholic liturgical calendar, a day of raucous festivity (or even debauchery) before Ash Wednesday marks the onset of the fasting period of Lent. As implied by the notion of Lundi Gras, and despite synecdochical usage of the phrase Mardi Gras, these celebrations are not limited to the Tuesday itself, but in fact involve parades, balls, and other events over the course of the entire Carnival season (starting from Epiphany on January 6th), increasing in density and intensity leading up to its conclusion. In particular, there are major parades every day for the ultimate week ending with Mardi Gras proper; as the most prominent part of Mardi Gras, and the best suited to tourism, we will dwell in some detail on the logistics of how these major parades work and how best to enjoy them in the sections below.
Major Parades
In this section we will provide information about the major, can't miss parades of the final weekend of Mardi Gras. See the link below (under "View") for a full schedule of all of the parades (for the whole season in the whole metro area) as well as more details about each parade. The basic consideration for catching a parade is its route. The majority of these parades follow some form of the standard "Uptown" route, starting uptown on Napoleon, then turning on St. Charles all the way downtown to Canal, before concluding somewhere downtown. There are a couple of key exceptions noted below. Going day by day: - Thursday (27th): Muses + others (St. Charles Route) -Friday (28th): Morepheus + others (Uptown) -Saturday (1st): daytime parades (Uptown) + Endymion (special Mid-City Route!) -Sunday (2nd): daytime parades + Bacchus (both Uptown) -Monday (3rd): Orpheus -Tuesday (4th): Rex & Zulu (Uptown variants), followed by truck parades
Where to Watch Parades
For the parades following the Uptown route, the two basic options for catching the parades are.. Uptown (along Napoleon or St. Charles) or Downtown (St. Charles in the CBD or on Canal). Broadly speaking, Uptown is where many locals (including both families and college students) go to watch the parades. The oak trees and mansions on St. Charles provide a very scenic setting. I would highly recommend catching at least one set of parades Uptown! Downtown is typically more touristy, but fun in its own way for that reason, and offers more convenient access to Bourbon Street & the rest of the Quarter, which will be festive and spirited the whole weekend. There are numerous marching krewes that parade in the Quarter throughout Carnival; of special interest is the Krewe of St. Anne on Mardi Gras itself.
Other Parade Logistics
The other most important consideration perhaps is timing. When multiple krewes roll down the same parade route, expect the first to start on time, and the others to follow in decently close succession.. barring delays for weather and mechanical issues, which can occur. The speed at which the parades progress depends on a variety of factors (especially weather), but overall it takes a couple of hours for a parade to reach Canal Street downtown from its start. Each parade will last at least close to a couple and up to 4 hours (the largest parades like Endymion). Cell service is often bad along the parade route, so stick together with your group and make plans to meet up. Bathrooms can also be scarce and typically must be paid for. Food and drink will be available at bars and restaurants along the route, but bringing drinks especially (no open container laws!) is probably prudent.
Other Festivities
In a previous section, the Krewe of St. Anne was mentioned as a walking krewe--so no elaborate floats, but lots of elaborate costumes--that parades from the Bywater to the Quarter on the morning of Mardi Gras. This is a different change of pace from the other parades but very spirited in its own way. Other quirky celebrations in the Quarter that may be of interest include the Greasing of the Poles and the Bourbon Street Awards. For going to bars and clubs downtown, aside from the renowned Bourbon Street, another popular area (viewed as slightly less touristy) is Frenchmen Street, where there are many great bars featuring live music, if you want to get a taste of nightlife outside of Bourbon Street. Hopefully this page gives some idea of how to approach Mardi Gras, but please reach out to me or Campbell for any advice or suggestions! We will also hopefully be able to see some of you in the days before the wedding to enjoy Mardi Gras together, so we will be in touch! -Bryce