Party Gras in New Orleans
Off-the-Wall Fun Things to See and Do During Carnival

Carnival Season, leading up to the “Big Day,” is a time of nearly non-stop activity in New Orleans, especially in the two or three weeks immediately preceding Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday).

Much of that activity is directly related to what makes Carnival so special to locals and visitors alike. Parades, Carnival krewe balls, concerts and other special events are just a part of what goes on this time of year. There are many more things that aren’t as well known or as widely publicized but are just as much fun, if not more so.

Here are just a few of the more “off-the-wall” happenings that are good, clean fun for all: individuals, groups and families alike.

Costuming

Going out dressed up in imaginative, bizarre costumes might be looked down upon or laughed at in other cities. Not in New Orleans and especially not during Carnival season. Admittedly, some of the costumes that revelers appear in public wearing might not be in good taste but most of them are. In any case, nowhere else and at no other time of year will you ever see more creative, colorful and just plain fun costumes as you are likely to see here on the streets on Mardi Gras Day.

From the legendary Mardi Gras Indians, who spend an entire year designing and hand-sewing their intricately feathered and sequined Indian suits, to the ordinary individual with even a little imagination, New Orleanians love to dress up in outlandish outfits and show themselves publicly. In years past, amateur and professional photographers alike could easily go through 100 or more rolls of film trying to capture the colorful tapestry of it all. Today, thanks to digital technology, you can capture thousands of images on a single camera and still get only a fraction of the action.

Visitors during Carnival, whether first-timers or repeat revelers, are encouraged to bring along a favorite costume to wear on Fat Tuesday. However, for those who haven’t, there are a number of shops in and around the French Quarter where you can either purchase an entire outfit or enough material and ornaments to fabricate your own.

Here is a list of costume and bead shops that can help you come up with that special “Fat Tuesday Look”:

Costume Shops
Bead Shops

Greasing of the Poles

In years past, Mardi Gras revelers, in their festive exuberance, had gotten into the habit of climbing up or down the poles that support French Quarter balconies from the sidewalks. Rather than have these revelers continue to risk injury, the businesses that had balconies decided to put an end to this dangerous practice.

More than 30 years ago, the Royal Sonesta Hotel started greasing the poles leading up to their balconies and the practice caught on with other French Quarter businesses that also had balconies. In typical New Orleans fashion, the “Greasing of the Poles” evolved into an annual ceremony, complete with a street party featuring live entertainment and revelry of its own.

This year, once again, the Royal Sonesta, at 300 Bourbon Street, will host its ritual “Greasing of the Poles” party at its traditional time – the Friday before Mardi Gras Day. The 2010 date is February 12 at 10 a.m. The guest celebrities and entertainers had not been announced by press time but the information can be obtained by calling the hotel at 504-586-0300 or logging on to www.sonesta.com.

Krewe of Barkus Parade

Mardi Gras is such a special time that, back in the early 1990s, a group of local canine lovers decided humans shouldn’t be the only ones having all the fun. They founded the Mystic Krewe of Barkus as a take-off on the much larger super-krewe of Bacchus, and began staging a French Quarter walking parade in which the dogs are the float riders and strutters.

For the duration of the 90-minute parade through the narrow, historic streets of the Vieux Carre, the dogs are royalty and the stars of the day. Dressed in imaginative outfits, always in keeping with a parade theme, the pets are the masters and their proud human owners are their servants.

In honor of the New Orleans Saints championship football season, the 2010 theme for the Krewe of Barkus parade is Barkus Goes Tailgating: "The Dogs Go Barking In." The parade date, coincidentally, is Super Sunday – February 7 – the same day the Saints go to their first-ever Super Bowl. Parade time is 1 p.m., which is an hour earlier than previous years, thus allowing participants and spectators ample time to make it back to wherever they plan to watch the Super Bowl.

And, in typical New Orleans fashion, the parade is preceded by a street party, featuring music, food and fun – including a chance to preview the participating canines in their Barkus Saints-themed finery. The “Pawty” (before, during and after the parade) will be at Orleans and North Rampart streets on the edge of the French Quarter at Louis Armstrong Park. It is open to all at no charge to hear the music and see the sights! Edibles and potables are available for purchase. This will also be the staging area for the parade participants.

The 2010 Parade starts at Orleans and North Rampart and proceeds on the new 15-block route through the Vieux Carré, stopping at the VIP Reviewing Stand at Good Friends Bar, corner Dauphine and St. Ann streets, where VIPs (and wannabe VIPs) will toast the Royal Court.

This is one fun parade you absolutely will not want to miss if you happen to be in New Orleans that day. Bring a chair or two and set up along the route or just pick a spot to stand and claim it. Either way you can expect a great time!

For more information about this year’s Barkus parade or how you and your dog can join the krewe, log on to www.barkus.org.

Racing at the Fair Grounds

While you’re in town you may want to do something besides watching parades and partying on Bourbon Street. One suggestion is to head on over to the Fair Grounds Race Course, the nation’s third oldest thoroughbred racetrack, and watch the ponies run. You can choose to join the “railbirds” outdoors at the finish line or relax and dine in the comfort of the ultra-modern, glass-enclosed clubhouse with tableside monitors from which to watch the action along the track.

During Carnival Season, the Fair Grounds hosts a number of special races and other events specially designed to allow you to enjoy the thrilling experience of thoroughbred racing at its best. Many of the winningest jockeys of all time and many of horse racing’s legendary steeds have made history on this track and the tradition continues with the best of both to this day.

The Fair Grounds is located at 1731 Gentilly Boulevard, just a few miles from downtown and the French Quarter. If you don’t have a vehicle, it’s a quick and easy taxicab ride there and back. Reservations and appropriate attire are required for clubhouse seating. For more information call 504-944-5515 or log on to www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.

“The Big Sweep”

Another fairly recent addition to the Mardi Gras tradition is the Bourbon Street cleanup at midnight, known locally as “The Big Sweep.” Led by the city’s Superintendent of Police on horseback and in full dress uniform, followed by other mounted officers and trucks of the New Orleans Sanitation Department, this is one parade that is best seen indoors or from a balcony – unless you’re wearing swimming trunks and rubber footwear.

As Mardi Gras officially ends, the procession sets off at 12:01 a.m. from the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets with the loud-speakered announcement, “Carnival is over! Please clear the streets!” Then, following the mounted policemen, the sanitation trucks begin spraying the street with powerful hoses and sweepers, gathering up as much Mardi Gras debris as it can on the first pass.

You are best advised to follow the police department’s orders to get off the street and watch the action from a safe locale. Those hoses and sweepers can literally knock a medium-weight human off his or her feet!

Following the trucks are the cleanup krewes (crews, actually) sweeping up what they can by hand. This goes on throughout the night and, by morning, you would hardly know there had been hundreds of tons of plastic beads, cups and other debris lying on the streets just hours earlier. The partying will still go on after midnight, but only indoors in the bars and other French Quarter hangouts. The following day is Ash Wednesday, the somber first day of Lent; the beginning of the 45-day fasting season that precedes Easter.

Ash Wednesday

For Catholic visitors preparing to head back to wherever they live, a fitting way to begin the Lenten season following Fat Tuesday, is to receive their ashes and blessings at one of the historic downtown or French Quarter churches.

The most popular sites are the 215 year old St. Louis Cathedral, home church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, opposite Jackson Square, or at the Baroque-style Immaculate Conception (locally known as Jesuits Church Downtown) at 130 Baronne Street, half a block from Canal Street. The interiors of both are awe-inspiring and reverent, and equally receptive to out-of-town visitors.

Several other smaller Catholic churches are on the outskirts of the French Quarter and close to the downtown area. For a complete directory of Catholic churches in New Orleans click here.

For more information about Mardi Gras and tips on how to enjoy the experience better check out the Mardi Gras section of our website.