NEW ORLEANS — The streets of New Orleans were filled Tuesday with excited kids hoping to catch beads from atop ladders, revelers in fancy costumes walking through the French Quarter and Mardi Gras Indians wearing finely beaded costumes.
Tuesday marked the final day of the Mardi Gras season, which began Jan. 6.
After rainy weather affected some parades Sunday, the weather Tuesday was cold but sunny. People – some of whom came out before dawn to get a good spot along the parade route – bundled up under multiple layers to fend off temperatures in the 30s and 40s.
Lorenzo Bridgewater of Slidell, Louisiana, got to the parade route at about 4:30 a.m. to get a good spot.
“I doubled up my jeans, doubled up my socks. I’m wearing a sweater underneath this and underneath that a thermal with a shirt over it. So I’m pretty layered up,” he said.
The festivities kicked off early in the morning with the Northside Skull and Bone Gang walking through the Treme neighborhood before the sun was up, wearing costumes that looked like skeletons and waking people up to celebrate the day.
Another crowd favorite is Pete Fountain’s Half-Fast Walking Group. The clarinetist died in 2016 but the walking group that he led for years still meets at Commander’s Palace restaurant and walks along the parade route ahead of the parades.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.