Greeting from New Orleans...it's Carnival time again! Though Mardi Gras day isn't until February 21 this year, 12th night (the feast of the Epiphany) on January 6 is actually the date the season gets started each year. If you've never been to our great city for the celebration, it's a bucket list item everyone should do once. The most congested time is the Thursday through Tuesday leading up to Mardi Gras day (Feb 16 - 21 this year). This is when the biggest parades role and the city hosts over one million visitors.
If you're looking for the experience but a bit less of a crowd, try the weekend before (Feb 10-12), locally referred to as the "first weekend of Mardi Gras". There's still plenty of great parades rolling, the locals are out and about, and we have a fraction of the revelers on that weekend. The photo below is one of the floats from the Krewe of King Arthur that rolls "first Sunday".
Another gem from the first weekend is the Mystic Krewe of Barkus. The name is a play on one of our larger parades, Bacchus. Barkus is a fantastic dog parade through the French Quarter, where the King and Queen are canine as are most of the participants in the parade. The Krewe raises funds for local animal shelters and groups. Below is their official poster from 2011 with the theme "A Broadway Tail: Barkus Brings Down The House". More info at their web site: www.barkus.org.
And keep in mind, the event is celebrated all over southern Louisiana, not just New Orleans. And in the metro area, it's not just in the French Quarter and Uptown. Our friends and neighbors on the West Bank (the other side of the Mississippi River) and in the suburb of Metairie throw a heck of a party too! Happy Mardi Gras, ya'll!!
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