Mardi Time
If you go to New Orleans - You ought to go see the Mardi Gras
LUNDI GRAS
After what felt like weeks of watching parades and festivities from afar (Carnival season starts January 6th) we finally arrived in New Orleans and checked into our AirBnb. We arrived just as the Red Beans Parade was ending, a newer parade featuring a second-line and hand-made costumes all celebrating red beans and rice. We were staying Uptown, which is where many of the parades start. We started at Magazine & Napoleon (after some last minute costume shopping) and followed the Krewe of Proteus parade from the starting point towards The French Quarter.
A few things to know off the bat; Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday in French) is the day before Ash Wednesday, and serves as a final day to live to excess before giving it up for Lent. The entire Carnival season includes weeks of parades, some silly, some time-honored traditions (Proteus started in 1883), but most of the festivities are family friendly. Sure there's day-drinking involved, but the assumption that its a sloppy mess of barf and boobs couldn't be further from the truth. The underlying theme is a celebration of heritage and culture in a weird and at times alarming way that may run counter to our preconceptions, but feels very right in New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz, po'boys and Cash Money Records.
After following Proteus for a few miles and ducking into our AirBnB to put on warmer clothes, we continued heading down St. Charles Avenue (the main parade route) and into Central City. It was here that we caught Orpheus, or our first Super Krewe. Founded by Harry Connicks, Jr and Sr., they can have at least 700 riders in their parade. This year, the Monarch was Keegan-Michael Key, who seemed into the spirit as he tossed his beads and coins (throws).
Another alarming sight for us was the appearance of the Flambeaux. Being in the south and seeing hooded, torch-wielding men marching the streets is an unsettling image. Another long-standing tradition, some Flambeaux have passed the role down through generations, as their ancestors (slaves or free men of color) were brought to the parade to provide representation for people of color, and to literally light the path.
It was during Krewe of Orpheus that we really experienced some of the signature elements of a Carnival parade; competing for throws and the marching bands. The bands vary in age and size, although most seem to be high school-aged, the most impressive one we caught was all girls, and they killed Rihanna's Wild Thoughts.
MARDI GRAS
By Tuesday morning we started to get it. We'd stopped resisting the idea that we were too cool for costumes (I allowed Molly to put glitter in my beard), and woke up early for the full experience. After fueling up again at French Truck Coffee, conveniently around the corner from our AirBnB we set off to catch the parades. Some start as early as 8am, so we had some catching up to do when we hit the streets.
Getting a lyft to the Marigny was tricky, but we eventually made it through the traffic and street closures. We joined the St. Anne Parade an independent parade featuring some of the most creative costumes, that our local friends required we start with. Our lyft snuck past quiet streets and empty warehouses, before turning the corner and stopping cold at the 4 block-long block party. At St. Annes glitter, humor and creativity were the stars of the show. After a few drinks and dancing, we made our way through the French Quarter and up to the Treme to catch our last parade of the day, Krewe of Zulu.
We finally caught up with the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club as they went under the freeway (which makes the bands sound amazing). Founded in the early 1900's Zulu one of the oldest traditionally African-American krewes, and catching their coconut is one of the most sought-after Mardi Gras throws. We didn't come close to a coconut, but almost caught a water bottle tossed by Zulu Grand Marshall Spike Lee.
Passing back through the French Quarter (it was only just after noon at this point) and things were getting messy. The crowds varied block by block, but on any street we could encounter a roaming parade (dedicated to musicians like Fats Domino), an intricate homemade float, or tourists baring it all. We still never saw the true depravity that Bourbon Street likely held, but we saw enough to know we didn't need to get closer. We capped off our time in the French Quarter with Po'Boys from Verti Marte which we are overlooking Jackson Square, and then began making our way back Uptown.
ASH WEDNESDAY
Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is when the city begins to go back to normal. The streets are swept and the streetcar is running again. We took the opportunity to explore a quieter French Quarter, taking lunch at the famed Galatoire's (white jacket service), we explored the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum took the Trolly up to The Treme to the Backstreet Cultural Museum, one of the coolest things we did.
The museum is a celebration of two important New Orleans instances of Black Culture; The Mardi Gras Indians and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs (and second lines). We had an amazing chat with Robert, who gave us insight on the pageantry and ceremony of the Black Indians. We weren't lucky enough to encounter them on Mardi Gras (we learned to check in at Backstreet throughout the day Monday (for Red Beans) and Tuesday, we may just plan our next trip for Super Sunday, when all of the tribes come together.
