Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras beads in New Orleans are creating an environmental concern

6:55pm February 12, 2024

by The Associated Press

Despite a daily cleanup that leaves the post-parade landscape remarkably clean, uncaught beads dangle from tree limbs like Spanish moss and get ground into the mud under the feet of passers-by.

Warren Easton Charter High School's marching band members line up in formation. Their instruments, among many, include sousaphones, cymbals, and a drum section with snare, tenor and bass drums.

With the return of Mardi Gras marching bands, New Orleans' streets are full of magic

11:36am March 01, 2022

by Aubri Juhasz

The bands may be smaller this year, but students say they're prepared to keep the culture alive and entertain hundreds of thousands of revelers.

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Just because the Mardi Gras parades are canceled, it hasn't stopped people's creativity. The "Little Shop of 2020 Horrors" house float is in the Algiers Point neighborhood of New Orleans.

National

In A Year Without Parades, Mardi Gras In New Orleans Is All About House Floats

8:23am February 16, 2021

by Aubri Juhasz

New Orleans officials canceled all the Mardi Gras parades this year. But that didn't stop some residents from getting into the spirit anyway. They decorated their houses for drive-through parades.

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Bourbon Street is a sea of humanity on Mardi Gras in New Orleans in February. The city will not allow Mardi Gras parades in 2021.

New Orleans Mayor Cancels Mardi Gras Parades In 2021

2:20pm November 17, 2020

by Elie Levine

"With COVID-19 cases increasing around the country, we will have to modify how to observe [Carnival] season," the mayor said. She's asking for alternative ideas from the public.

Music & Culture

Krewe Du Kanaval Honors The Haitian Roots Of New Orleans

10:00am February 12, 2020

by Alex Lewis

A few years ago, a new Mardi Gras krewe sprung up with the aim of celebrating the Haitian roots that run deep through the city's cultural identity. It was co-founded by two members of Arcade Fire.

Members of the Aerial Space Squad sub-krewe perform acrobatics above the crowd on a pole and hoops.

National

All Nerddoms Welcome: The Intergalactic Krewe Of Chewbacchus Parades In New Orleans

3:34pm February 02, 2020

by Melissa Block

In New Orleans, arguably the most far-out pre-Mardi Gras parade is staged by the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus: home to "revelrous Star Wars freaks, Trekkies, Whovians... and all super-nerds."

New Orleans resident Annie Gibson parades dressed as Frida Kahlo with Krewe de Mayahuel, a Mardi Gras krewe organized by the Mexican immigrant population in the city.

National

For Mardi Gras, A Parade Celebrates Mexican Immigrants In New Orleans

11:04am March 04, 2019

by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

New Orleans krewes stage parades through the city in the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. This year, a krewe formed by Mexican immigrants, Krewe de Mayahuel, showcased Mexican history and art.

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Mardi Gras beads strewn on a New Orleans street.

National

New Orleans Hopes 'Gutter Buddies' Will Keep Mardi Gras Beads Out Of Storm Drains

6:52pm February 12, 2018

Last month, city officials announced they had pulled 93,000 pounds of old beads out of catch basins along the parade route. So the city created a new system of bead-blockers to keep the drains clear.

Though the Mardi Gras Indian who appears in "Lemonade" is a young woman, most people who mask and parade as part of the tradition are male.

The Mardi Gras Indian Of 'Lemonade'

2:18pm April 27, 2016

by Leah Donnella

In "Lemonade," Beyoncé's much-discussed visual album, a girl resplendent in white plumage appears. It's a nod to the pop star's New Orleans roots and loaded with the region's racial history.

Mardi Gras Spectators in Mobile, Ala., in 2010.

National

For Mardi Gras, Les Bon Temps Rouler In Mobile, Ala., Too

5:54am February 08, 2016

by Debbie Elliott

Most people think of New Orleans on Mardi Gras. But the pre-Lenten celebration has roots in another Gulf Coast city. Mobile, Ala., proudly bills itself as the "mother of mystics."