What is the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras like to visit?
Ornate costumes, dazzling floats, coloured beads, music and parading bands characterise Mardi Gras in Orleans. This centuries-old tradition dates back to the Middle Ages when the first parade is recorded to have taken place in 1833.
The date of Mardi Gras changes every year but is always 47 days before Easter. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, technically lasts for one day, which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday but the entire Mardi Gras season typically spans several weeks.
Mardi Gras involves 70 parades, often lasting 5 hours, organised by social clubs known as krewes. Several are known as “super krewes” such as the Krewe of Bacchus, Krewe of Orpheus as well as the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club go the extra mile, holding larger parades and events (often featuring celebrity guests), which tend to head to the streets over the last few days.
Elsewhere, the backstreet cultural experience in the oldest Africa American neighbourhood in the US takes place in the early hours on Mardi Gras morning where Mardi Gras Indians march in costumes of the North Side Skull & Bones Gang and the Baby Dolls to wake up the neighbourhood. This is an authentic, sombre experience, a dark atmosphere.
The Backstreet Cultural Museum, located here, explains the rites and practices interwoven with the French-Creole history.
French Quarter by Paul Broussard
Founded as a military-style grid of seventy squares in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Bienville, the French Quarter was the original city, now designated as a National Historic Landmark.
The streets in the French Quarter are too narrow for the floats, but the party continues all day and, for some, all night. The architecture lends itself to partying with decorated balconies such as the Cornet Restaurant, which has the biggest and brightest second-floor balcony on Bourbon Street, perfect for the legendary bead throwing, while jazz musicians played on the pavements, in the bars and clubs.
The iconic wrought iron decorative balconies, derived from the Spanish, have shaped the architectural aesthetic of the French Quarter. And to preserve their splendour, there’s a tradition of “Greasing the Poles” which involves treating the structures to deter overzealous revellers from shimmying up to the coveted balcony space.
Throwing beads from the balcony in the French Quarter
Mardi Gras World
Positioned next to the Mississippi River is the vast Mardi Gras World, a warehouse where the magic of the Mardi Gras is in the making as a year-round industry. Here artists, sculptors and even the robot Pixi are busy crafting over 500 floats and bringing characters to life in a range of materials from paper-mache, clay and fibre glass.
It’s like a sculpture wonderland of figures, from a styrofoam Shrek to King Kong. It’s also a den of floats which feature multi-sections that can stretch up to 200 feet long, complete with hydraulic moving parts, LED lighting, and pyrotechnic effects. Mardi Gras World is a tourist attraction with tours and fun facts for all the family. It originated in 1932 as Kern Studios when the first mule-drawn float was built on the back of a garbage wagon.
The buzz, spirit and energy of the Mardi Gras does not disappear after the police have cleared the streets on the last day. The party atmosphere in the French Quarter continues with jazz, restaurants, tours and attractions all year round.
The Sounds of Jazz
Jazz was born in New Orleans but its roots lay in the musical traditions of Europe and Africa. The music representing the artistic expression of dreams and destiny. Around the streets today, the distinctive sound seems to bubble up from the streets, trumpets blaring, a crash of the cymbal and blows of a horn, laced with vocals form the rich bass band culture. Visit the New Orleans jazz museum, dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of jazz music. It’s easy to imagine the jazz funerals and slow shuffle march often portrayed in Hollywood in James Bond, Live & Let Die. And jazz legend Louis Armstrong was born here, an airport named after him and a park dedicated to his gift.
Of the many accolades he received, being elected King of Zulu during Mardi Gras was the one that he often said meant the most. A photo of him as Zulu made the cover of TIME magazine in 1949. Armstrong’s best-known songs include When the Saints Go Marching In, “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello, Dolly!“,
New Orleans’ Cuisine & Cocktails
When it comes to food, New Orleans is a melting pot of cultures and flavours. Jambalaya is a rice dish with a mix of chicken, seafood, sausage–or all three! Po-boy, a hearty sandwich, stuffed and slathered with sauce or mayonnaise, and then served between two long pieces of French bread. Gumbo is a flavoursome stew which embodies the essence of Creole cooking and Crawfish Étouffée is crawfish in a rich sauce with rice or the popular red beans and rice and try the alligator bites, breaded or grilled. No trip to New Orleans is complete without experiencing the simple pleasure of a bag of beignets. These fried, fluffy square-shaped doughnuts covered in powdered sugar were made famous at Café du Monde and have been a staple since 1862. For those with a sweet tooth, pralines are a must-try. And during Mardi Gras, it would be a sin not to taste a slice of King Cake, a blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll iced in the colours of Mardi Gras, purple which represents justice, green faith and gold power.
Happy hour here is between 9am – 4pm, so a chalked board read. It’s party time for cocktails. The Sazerac cocktail (cognac or whiskey based) is the official drink of New Orleans while The Frenchmen 75 was made famous in New Orleans using cognac, sugar, lemon juice & Champagne or Summertime, rosemary infused Hendrick’s Gin, lemon juice, & Rosemary syrup. Visit the Carousel Bar which opened in 1949 and is still spinning.
After the Mardi Gras
This is party city where festivals keep on coming with around 130 unique events throughout the year to include Jazz Fest, ESSENCE and French Quarter Festival.
Outside festival fever, the city is packed with culture from museums to art galleries, tours of all kinds from, plantation, swamp and city tours to steamboat or airboat cruises or hop on an authentic streetcar to explore the neighbourhoods.
Tremé is the nation’s oldest African American neighbourhood within which is Congo Square, famous for its influence on the history of African American music, especially jazz. It’s an open space where the enslaved and free people of colour gathered throughout the 19th century for meetings, open markets, dance and drumming celebrations that played a substantial role in the development of jazz. In fact, local voodoo practitioners still consider Congo Square a spiritual base.
Vue Orleans is a 360° taste of the city, offering breathtaking views atop one of the tallest buildings in New Orleans and an interactive cultural experience
Louis Armstrong Park is a 32-acre park with a lagoon, fountains, an Auditorium for concerts, historic buildings and Perserverance Hall.
Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, famous for acoustic and authentic jazz concerts.
Where to stay
Both hotels are conveniently located on Canal Street.
More Info on New Orleans here.
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