There are 2 Mardi Gras' ------ one for the locals and one for the tourists. Along 3/4 of the Parade route the locals attend,,, after the parade gets 'downtown' then the tourists take over, most people are only familiar with the tourist part. For 3/4 of the parade it is families. children , no drunks, no flashing of bodies,, G rated fun for all. Here are 2 pics,,,notice the ladders , they are for the children to get onto to catch beads,, the entire route , on both sides of the street is lined with them. On St. Charles Ave, where most parades go, there is a 1 -4 hour delay, waiting for the next parade to come. During that delay ANY GROUP is welcome to march down the street, between parades. You can't imagine some of the groups that march. Here is one example, I put the movie on youtube so I could post it on here. Again, this is not in the parade, a truck is following the chairs, that is where the music is coming from. just people having fun.



Lounge chair between parades

I knew everything but that until I moved to New Orleans. I knew everything after that.

No Masks!

If you notice in the pics it looks like people are divided into family groups.

So i guess no locals go downtown? Seems they are both real, just one is g-rated and the other has no rating

Looks terrible

It's associated with Easter and Catholicism. It's very much a family oriented event. The stuff that happens in the French Quarter is just a crazy party time.

"refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual Lenten sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season."

My Wife went to Tulane and still has friends in New Orleans. Been to both the big parades and some of the small locals. Different but both fun.

Most people don't know that Mardi Gras in this country began in Mobile, AL where the oldest parades are still.

It is also called Fat Tuesday. It is a Carnival that starts and they starve for awhile and calls it feasts. They suffer til Ash Humpday.

I recall reading that but I don't think anyone cares about Mobile.

What I didn't know was this little blurb, thank goodness for the different conquests that took place in La. and reshaped boundries.

"Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama. It is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana."

Charlie

Wish I had a real King Cake right now, or three.

I became a catholic late in life, news to me, my wife made me do it lol

So why do they not have Mardi Gras celebrations wherever catholics are?

The requirement is Catholic AND French, plus some cray cray as well.

Charlie

Quebec, many places in Europe, many places in South America like Carnival in Barranquilla, Colombia and all of Brazil. Veracruz, Mexico also has a big event.

Galveston even has a celebration usually.

https://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/TheBLT/Top10PlacestoCelebrateMardiGrasOutsideofLouisiana724.html

https://www.gadventures.com/blog/mardi-gras-global-carnival/

http://www.krewecentral.com/carnival-celebrations/the-top-15-carnivals-around-the-world

Wasn’t intended to be a drunk party, more of a family feast

I never knew what the difference between catholic and Episcopalian was until I was an usher at an episcopalian wedding. Priest was drinking with us in the parking lot.

Wife and I lived in St Bernard Parish for 7 years. We’d go downtown to watch a few big parades (Bacchus, Endymion, and Mid-City) and we’d walk a half mile from home to the local parade that went down St Bernard Highway. The locals would throw all the usual Mardi Gras stuff plus they’d hand you a beer. When the parade was past, we’d hurry home, get in my little Triumph sports car, put the top down get in behind the parade and throw all the stuff we had caught (except the beer). Our oldest daughter was about 6 years old, and she just had a ball. She’d be behind the seats in the little car and throwing as hard as she could. It really was good back then.

I think Catholics think they are a lot more different than they are. I went through all the junk I had to and well not much has changed lol.

Grew up in NOLA. My cousin (RIP) owned the double shotgun on St. Charles next to Merlin Chocolate Factory. We used to watch a lot of the parades line up right there.

Hump day.