Mardi Gras Parades

Carnival parades begin in earnest two weekends before Mardi Gras, with parades day and night on weekends; there are parades each night starting the Wednesday before Mardi Gras. These parades are not the spectator activities that the term parade often signifies. The give-and-take between the riders on the floats and parade goers is what defines these events. The communication medium here is the "throws," or gifts the riders throw or hand to spectators. The most common throws are plastic beads, the most elaborate of which are worn like trophies by proud receivers. Other favorites include doubloons, or oversize aluminum coins, first introduced by Rex as His Majesty's official currency; plastic cups with the date and theme of the parade; medallion beads with the individual krewe's insignia; and stuffed animals.

Almost all Carnival krewes, or organizations, select a different theme each year for their parade. Themes range from whimsical to hard-edged political, though always with a tendency toward irreverence and satire. The politically incorrect is part and parcel of the subversiveness that characterizes Carnival, and stabs at government officials, racist or sexist jokes, and the glorification of gluttony are only a few of the offenses that all New Orleanians giggle at gleefully during Mardi Gras. The throws from a given float or parade will sometimes reflect that year's theme, one reason why locals dive for doubloons and plastic cups imprinted with the date and logo.

The floats and bands make up the bulk of the parades, with the odd walking "club," dance troupe, or convertible car tossed in here and there. During night parades, an extra ingredient is the flambeaux, torch-bearing dancers who historically lighted the way for the parades. These days they provide little more than nostalgia and some fancy stepping to the bands, but they still earn tips along the route for their efforts.

Though parades used to roll through the French Quarter, these days the most popular ones start Uptown at Magazine Street and Napoleon Avenue, continuing down St. Charles Avenue to Canal Street, and following Canal to their finish. Though it's chaotic all along the route, heading downtown, parade goers become more numerous: Lee Circle is particularly lively. The real action, though, is along Canal Street itself, where raucous downtowners and tourists converge. Many of the marching bands save their best energy for the turn onto Canal, where the riders generously unload their throws.

In the weeks before Mardi Gras, two quirky parades run through the Quarter. The Krewe du Vieux hits the street two Saturdays before Mardi Gras. Nearly every brass band in town participates, and the small floats are decorated along satirical, often off-color themes, and are pulled by donkeys, not by tractors as in other parades. One week later, on the Sunday afternoon one week before Mardi Gras, the Krewe of Barkus rolls along a winding route through the Quarter in the vicinity of St. Ann Street, featuring thousands of elaborately costumed canines and their proud owners, often in coordinated attire. This is one of the most fun afternoons of the entire year in New Orleans.

Must-See Parades

Bacchus: Flashy. Be on the lookout for the immense Bacchagator and other oversize floats depicting jungle creatures.

Endymion: Even flashier. Its members are known for generous throws.

Muses: It's girls gone wild for this all-woman krewe.

Rex: Living up to its name, this truly is the king of parades.

Tucks: Like a rowdy little brother, Tucks is full of bawdy humor and mischief.

Zulu: Unique for its decorated coconut throws.

Mardi Gras for Early Birds

While most revelers arrive in New Orleans the Friday before Mardi Gras, many major parades actually start that Wednesday. They go the traditional St. Charles Avenue to Canal Street route.

Wednesday:

Ancient Druids, 6:30 pm

Thursday:

Babylon, 5:45 pm

Muses, 6:15 pm

Chaos, 6:30 pm

Mardi Gras Day

On Mardi Gras day it seems that every street in the city sees a piece of a procession at one point or another. One of the following krewes is sure to meet your styles and tastes.

Early on Mardi Gras morning, you can catch Zulu, the oldest African-American parade. If you are not prepared, the black-faced riders, some of them in mock African dress, can seem in shockingly bad taste, but these parodies of minstrelsy are the long-standing traditions of the krewe. Zulu rolls down Jackson Avenue, turning onto St. Charles ahead of Rex, and reaches Canal Street around 11 am, though in keeping with their mischievous customs, this timing can vary dramatically. Rex, traditionally regarded as king of Carnival, greets his subjects following Zulu. His floats are intricate, old-fashioned affairs, one of the visual high points of Mardi Gras day. Behind Rex are the truck parades: more than 200 flatbed trucks, each rented and decorated by an independent group, carrying some 7,000 riders in all. The trucks roll one after another for hours, without bands or walking groups between them.

Mardi Gras day also brings the appearances of the Mardi Gras Indians and the walking clubs. The walking clubs zigzag all over town, stopping in bars and swapping paper flowers and beads for kisses. One of the more regular clubs, the Krewe of St. Ann was founded by a group of friends in 1969. The parade begins in the Bywater District and works its way through Faubourg Marigny before entering the Quarter. This is your best chance to see the Mardi Gras strutting of some of the city's most elaborately designed costumes. And since there is no formal membership, you can join the fun as long as you're in costume!

Predating most of the major parades, the Mardi Gras Indians hold their own rituals in the backstreets on Mardi Gras morning. The Indians are members of African-American organizations who dress in intricately beaded costumes that often take all year to create (traditional Indians do not wear the same suit two years in a row). The Indians parade through backstreets, chanting songs from the Mardi Gras Indian repertory. The Indian tribes fall into two major categories: Uptown and downtown. To seek out the Uptown tribes on Mardi Gras morning, venture into the streets across St. Charles Avenue from the Garden District, between Jackson and Washington avenues. The downtown tribes generally revolve around Tremé. To find them, head away from the French Quarter on Ursulines Street.

Rex's Royal Roots

In 1872, Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff visited New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Local businessmen wanted to entertain the duke, so they held a daytime parade—and Rex was born.