There are two ways to go about a blog post for a trip like this... The first is to recount the events that occurred, the second is to explain the overall feeling of the trip. In the case of this trip, at least for me, it was more of an overall experience, so I'm going to go the later route...
The Mardi Gras season, to the locals, seems to be more about the parades than the party... Although, to be clear the parades are giant parties. People camp out all day, sometimes several days to get their spot on the parade route. There are plenty of camp chairs that people are sitting on, but they also put up awnings and BBQ's. Imagine a tailgating party that's several miles long and you'll get an idea for the atmosphere along many of the parade routes. But, while it's a giant party, it is mostly clean fun. A lot of the beads thrown end up in the hands of little kids poised on top of ladders. I saw one kid's parent's lugging two giant bags filled with beads and toys away after a parade.
The parades are quite a spectacle in and of themselves. Some of the floats are relatively simple designs, with particle board type facings that are painted in various themes. Other floats are lit with LEDs or have giant statues. One of my favorites was a giant train with LEDs all around. On the floats are dozens, and in at least one case hundreds of people throwing things to the crowds. A lot of the "throws" are beads, but there are also rather more exotic items. My first such was a shoe from the Muses parade, which is quite the score (locals were all suitably impressed). Below is a picture of me, in the hat, with the shoe. I will admit that I had an "in" to get the shoe, in that it was thrown by my cousin. Although, I was equally thrilled to get the bracelet you can also see. It's a bunch of little shoes, and it was thrown to me by a girl on one of the early floats, alright, specifically the Muses float 5, not that I remember things like that (or that she had enchanting eyes). She liked my hat (she made crosses in the air, thinking it looked like the pope hat) and threw the bracelet to me.
I would be negligent talking about the parades if I just talked about the floats, the crowds and the throws. There were also the bands and the marching groups. Between each float was either a marching band or a truck with music. The marching bands come from all over, many local school's marching bands participate, but I also remember seeing schools from Virginia (VMI), Florida and a few other places. Some of the marching bands were accompanied by dancing girls/cheerleaders. I heard numerous people in the crowds say they enjoyed the bands more than the floats. I'm more of a float guy, but I appreciated the marching bands. Especially because I saw a few of the bands multiple times during my stay, so I know they must end the week exhausted, since marching for several hours several days in a row has got to be tough (I know every night I was exhausted from walking to/from the parades and the various locations)...
Earlier I mentioned the trucks with music. This were usually accompanied by... Well, let's say less serious dancers. I'm not saying the dancing wasn't good, just that it had a whimsical air to it. There were a couple of all-female groups, such as the PussyFooters, who dress in pink wigs and corsets. The crowd favorite though were the 610 Stompers, who are average guys (seriously, take 50 random guys and you could have the 610 Stompers) dressed in white headbands, blue short and shiny vinyl red jackets. They might not have been the prettiest looking group, but they were having fun and they danced with passion.
Part of the experience revolved around the hat. While I might not have that many photos, there are dozens, or perhaps a hundred or more pictures of me circulating the world from the few days I was in New Orleans. A six and a half foot tall man with a two foot tall plush crown attracts a bit of attention. Numerous people bowed to me, and I couldn't count how many asked if I was the king of Mardi Gras. There were people who wanted to take a picture of me, or have their picture taken with me. It was all terribly flattering. I even made the local news, when Jessica Holly from Fox 8 New Orleans interviewed me because she loved my hat! (http://www.fox8live.com/video?clipId=8366290&autostart=true about 1:35 into the clip). A lot of people also asked where I got it, and seemed a bit disappointed that I brought it from Boston. People also offered to buy it, one guy even offered me $20 and to see his girlfriend's boobs. One last thing about the hat... People seemed divided about whether it was a king's crown or a papal crown, going more towards the Pope after the announcement of the Pope's retirement...
I would be negligent in my reminiscing not to include some observations about Bourbon Street. The crowd was quite impressive. There were a couple of spots where I had trouble making any progress, mostly because a large group of people were begging those on the balconies to throw them beads. Actually that was probably my least favorite part about the Bourbon Street experience, was people throwing beads from the balconies. Maybe because I got hit in the face way too many times by beads that people threw (likely at my hat). Although one person did get a miracle shot and land the beads around my hat... Anyway, there were a lot of drunk people milling around. For the most part it was all in good fun. There were girls showing off their assets to get attention (and beads), but not as much as I was led to believe. There were also people who got into fights, although I didn't see any major fights, mostly pushing. I saw one guy who caught a pickpocket in the act of taking his phone, and someone did try to lift my wallet at one point (at least that was the feeling I got, and it fit with a rather aggressively pushing guy in the crowd). There was also a shooting while I was on Bourbon street, which shutdown one stretch for a few hours. So there is definitely a dark side to the festivities, and I saw a number of predatory looking people hanging around the periphery. But, that is a very small portion, most just wanted to have a good time.
One interesting thing about Bourbon street is that it doesn't just attract carousers. There is a large christian group that has a anti-Mardi Gras thing going on. They have giant crosses they hold up on a couple of corners, and preach to the crowd on megaphones. They also engage in one-on-one witnessing, but I think many of those were the people from the crowd either messing with them, or in some cases explaining that going out, having a few drinks and a night of fun isn't anti-Christian. There were a couple of pushing matches around this group, actually, half of the shoving I saw was due to them (not that they were pushing, but that their antagonism caused others to push them). Although they did at one point form a long double line, probably fifty men in all and forced there way along in the crowd, hands on the shoulders of the man in front of them. I'm not sure what that was about, aside from causing difficulties for people to move on the street.
Anyway, my favorite night on Bourbon street was the last night, that is Mardi Gras night itself. The crowd was actually significantly smaller than on the weekend, but there were more people in costume. I got the impression that Mardi Gras night is really the night the locals enjoy for dressing up and going out. It was still full of the usual tourists, but a lot of people who were clearly locals and clearly enjoying the atmosphere.
For those who are interested in a more local experience, you can still go to the French Quarter, but head down a few streets. I went to Decatur street and had a few drinks at a bar that is mostly frequented by locals. One particularly enthusiastic woman said I understood Mardi Gras, either because I wasn't on Bourbon street, or that I had a bit of costuming on.
This blog has already rambled on quite enough, although there is still so much to say. For instance, while I did have plenty to drink, I never really got drunk, because there was so much to see and do. I also regret that I forgot to buy a King Cake before I left, well, I remembered, but too late since they were sold out.
Thanks to Ellie and Roger for having me! I'm sure I'll be back...
