We got to celebrate our first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and boy, it was exciting and fun. I've never been to Mardi Gras celebrations anywhere else, but I can't imagine that anyone can do it better. If you're like me when you think New Orleans and Mardi Gras, you think indecent exposure, inebriation, and all things not meant for families with young children. However, that's not the case. Sure, if you found yourself in the middle of the French Quarter strolling down Bourbon Street, then Mardi Gras would be rated R. There are soooo many parades that are great for families, and now my children may never enjoy another parade outside of NOLA again.
Mardi Gras is a huge deal in NOLA. The carnival season begins on January 6th, 12th night of Christmas, and from that time until Fat Tuesday the evidence of the celebration is all over. King cakes in stores, aisles at Walmart devoted to all kinds of Mardi Gras decor, and houses decked out in purple, green, and gold. The two and half weeks (although this year it was three weeks because the Super Bowl fell in between) before Mardi Gras day are packed full of parades. Each Krewe has their own parade and there are a lot of Krewes.
I had the chance to go to some parades with some other ladies the Thursday before Fat Tuesday. We went mainly for the Krewe of Muses parade, but enjoyed a couple others that rolled before. The Krewe of Muses is more of a PG-13 parade so that's why I went without the kids plus it was past their bedtime. The Muses have a special throw of sparkly, decked out shoes. You have to
work really hard beg a Muse to hand you a shoe and make sure that the throngs of other people around you don't get what was intended for you. I didn't get a shoe, but got some other neat throws and had a lot of fun on my girls night out.
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| There was a lull in the parade so people just filled the street and started dancing. I learned the wobble (I know I may be a little late on that). |
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| My throws from the Muses, not including a few magnetic dry erase message boards and some doubloons. |
The Saturday before Fat Tuesday the whole family went to some parades. Our original intentions was to go to the Krewe of Iris and stay for the parade that followed, the Krewe of Tucks. We ended up skipping out on the Krewe of Tucks as it was delayed for a while and made our way to the Krewe of Endymion. Endymion is a very popular parade. It has a lot of riders that send out a lot of throws. Having some cute kids and getting the attention of the riders is key to getting some good throws.
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| People get to the parade route and set up there spots early hours before it is scheduled to roll. Many people have retrofitted ladders with seats on top for the kids to sit in for ultimate parade watching and throw catching. |
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| Motorized Cooler-cycle. You never know what you are going to see. |
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| We are so going to have to get one of these for Parker and Ellis. |
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| Ellis and I worked together to get some great throws. |
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| Paul and Parker made a great team. Paul is such a good dad. He had some very sore shoulders at the end of the day. |
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| This one is just for Uncle Michael. |
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| Isn't she cute with her beads? |
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| People were everywhere. |
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| Budweiser Clydesdales |
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| The parades are not just floats, but there are sooo many marching bands and other groups mixed in. |
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In the parades that roll at night or into the night, they have the city's homeless carry flambeauxs as a way to pay tribute to how the parades used to be lit. The homeless take tips from the revelers as they pass.
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| This guy just stopped at this man and took the spoon from him and helped himself to a bite of jambalaya. I would have thrown it away after that, but he kept on eating his supper. |
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| Endymion has such pretty floats. |
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| Our beads- approximately 60 lbs of them! Yes, there are some unopened bags of them that they would just chunck at you. And yes, you have to watch out because they are chuncked at you and do hurt if you get hit with them. |
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| The toys we got- plush animals, balls, frisbees, cups. Some toys didn't make it in this picture. That's what happens when you have little ones. |
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| More of the throws. Notice the light saber, Parker's favorite. Sadly, it has already broken. We also got a t-shirt that's not pictured. You never know what you're gonna get. |
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Not all the beads are the generic kind. There are some special beads and these are what we got.
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We were planning on taking in some parades on Fat Tuesday, but since both cars were broken down and Ellis was sick we watched some of the parades on tv. We had so much fun. We look forward to many more years of celebrating the carnival season in New Orleans.
