Mardi Gras 101

Mardi Gras is coming up in a little over two weeks, and I am very excited! So, I thought would write about my past Mardi Gras experience to give you a little insight into what Mardi Gras has been like for me.

Since I am only a sophomore, I have only had one Mardi Gras last year, and it was so much fun! Everyone has this idea (at least I did) that Mardi Gras was spent on Bourbon St. doing things only seen on Girls Gone Wild to get a string of beads, when in fact, it is much more family friendly and less scandalous than that altogether.

It might be a little hard to believe, but believe it! I only went down to the French Quarter once during Mardi Gras last year and it was during the daytime before any of the parades started just so that a friend of mine from out of town could see what the Quarter looked like. Mostly, we spend Mardi Gras on St. Charles St. where the street is lined with tents and lawn chairs and barbeques and families waiting on the parade route. It's a lot of fun - kind of like a picnic except that everyone in New Orleans is invited! Below is a picture of Arielle and Amanda and me coming home from a parade last year (notice the abundance of beads!)

Here are a few fun facts about Mardi Gras:

- The actual date of Mardi Gras this year is Tuesday, the 24, but parades started running as early as this weekend! (the first being Krewe du Vieux) As a Tulane student we actually get school off on Monday the 23 and the next day!

- The parades that are the centerpieces of Mardi Gras festivities are run by social clubs called "krewes". Examples include the Knights of Sparta, the Krewe of Pegasus, and Krewe of Orpheus. These krewes also hold balls (usually masquerade) throughout the Mardi Gras season. Below is a picture of my friend Gerardo and me at a masquerade ball that Tulane put on last year.

- Gold, green, and purple are the colors of Mardi Gras!

- Despite what people think, all you need to do to get beads during Mardi Gras is stand there and hold out your hand! Seriously! You catch so many beads! In fact, most people bring ladders for the height advantage (the little kids who sit on ladders get the best beads!!)

- They don't just throw beads at people from parade floats! They throw weird trinkets, stuffed animals, cups, frisbees... you name it! At this one parade, Zulu, they throw coconuts to a few lucky few in the crowd! Of course, my friends and I managed to catch four between the four of us! (The one with the eyelashes and braids is mine! It's actually still sitting on my bookshelf!)

So that's a little bit about Mardi Gras! Did I mention I'm excited!