Mardi Gras in New Orleans

I had the pleasure of being in New Orleans during the week leading to Mardi Gras. I left before the big day, but I had the opportunity to watch numerous parades and catch pounds of beads. The night parades are beautiful as the floats are more extravagantly decorated and ablaze with lights. However, the evening parades are more crowded and populated with more watchers who are intoxicated. The alcohol tends to make people more aggressive when it comes to catching the beads, cups, doubloons and other items that are thrown from the floats. The day parades are shorter and less crowded, making them more suitable for younger children. I met lots of friendly folks from Louisiana who shared parade history and information. With names such as Muses, Thor, Bachus, Orpheus and Thoth, each uptown parade has a theme and a 3+-mile route that ultimately brings in down St. Charles to Canal Street. The parades vary in length, with the day parades being shorter. The evening parades can include more than 28 floats, and each float is interspersed with a high school marching band or dance academy. I do believe that I saw every high school marching band in Louisiana. The floats sport a "krewe" of 10 to 50+ masked men or women. Each float rider has applied to be member of the krewe and paid a fee, which pays for the pounds of beads and other trinkets thrown during the parade. Some of the krewes, such as Bachus and Orpheus, have waiting list to join. The floats, pulled by tractors, can be one-level or two-levels in height. They double-decker floats have to carefully navigate beneath low-hanging power lines, which can slow the parade's progress and create gaps. Krewes imbibe along the parade route and by the parade's end they are often throwing quart-sized plastic bags filled with brightly colored beads. Parade watchers often bring large canvas bags to carry home their loot. I was amazed at the amount of beads and other trinkets thrown. People covet the beads and doubloons that carry the parade name (Isis, Thoth, Chaos). Do women flash for beads? I saw a few flash krewe members for beads, but only at the later night parades. For the most part, people held out their hands to catch whatever was thrown their way.