Beads, drinks and debauchery is what probably comes to mind for most when they hear the words Mardi Gras. Each year, hundreds of thousands make their way to New Orleans and other areas to celebrate “Fat Tuesday” and the weeks leading up to it. But the beads, drinks and debauchery is only the tip of the Mardi Gras iceberg.

Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday,” is the day before Ash Wednesday. It is also called “Shrove Tuesday” or “Pancake Day.” Mardi Gras day is the final day of Carnival, which begins 12 days after Christmas, or Twelfth Night, on Jan. 6 and ends on Mardi Gras, which falls 46 days before Easter, and will land on Tuesday, Feb. 5 this year.

Mardi Gras is not only celebrated in New Orleans, but also in Mobile, Ala.; Venice, Italy; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, just to name a few, but no one can argue that New Orleans is the mecca of Mardi Gras.
Most tourists flock to New Orleans’ French Quarter for Mardi Gras where locals and tourists alike throw and catch beads, frequent bars, strip clubs and everything in between. Needless to say, this part of Mardi Gras can be wild.

Jenny Stoffe, a 23-year-old from Nashville, Texas, said this was exactly the reason she went to Mardi Gras this year.

“I came for the party!” she exclaimed while catching beads with one hand and drinking a Hurricane with the other. “I’ve always heard this was the biggest and best party, and I had to experience it for myself. And it’s everything I thought it would be.”

The alcoholic beverages Hurricanes and Hand Grenades are staples in New Orleans this time of year, and served year round.

“All you need is one of these to get the party going!” Stoffe said as she took a sip of her Hurricane.
New Orleans resident Timothy Baubier, 38, owns clothing store Alternative Tees. He has lived in New Orleans his entire life and has partaken in the Mardi Gras festivities for as long as he can remember. He said the French Quarter is definitely the craziest part of Mardi Gras, especially on Lundi Gras, which is the night before Mardi Gras day.
“It’s the wildest scene you could possibly imagine,” Baubier said. “I’ve been here 38 years and I’ve been there one time and have never been again.”

The party is such a big deal for New Orleans that in 1875 Mardi Gras was declared a legal holiday by the state of Louisiana.

Parades are another huge part of the Mardi Gras experience. The parades begin about 12 days before Mardi Gras and consists of hundreds of floats throwing beads, stuffed animals and more.

New Orleans hosts many of these parades, including the biggest and most elaborate, Endymion and Bacchus, both held the weekend before Mardi Gras day.
“Endymion is the biggest,” Baubier said. “It’s just a humongous parade, the floats are just unbelievably gorgeous.”

Lafayette, La., hosts the second largest Mardi Gras celebration, which includes eight parades of floats and bands during the season. Baton Rouge, La. hosts seven parades, while New Roads, La. hosts the state’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans. According to Wikipedia, law enforcement officials have estimated New Roads parade attendance as high as 80,000.

Mark Samuels, 45, owns Basin Street Records of New Orleans and has lived in the city most of his life. He said he has ridden in several parades and said it is an amazing experience.

“It’s great,” Samuels said. “To watch all of those people having a good time and being so excited over a pair of beads or a stuffed animal or whatever else you might be throwing to them ... it’s a lot of fun.”

But there is another side of Mardi Gras that a lot of people may not know about, a more family-oriented side.

“The Mardi Gras people see on TV is the Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street, the craziness and people with their tops off,” Samuels said. “There is also the family side of it along St. Charles Avenue where people picnic all afternoon and have a good time.”
New Orleans is even catering more to families this year than before with what they are calling Family Gras.

“We have two Mardi Gras here,” Baubier said. “We have the New Orleans Mardi Gras that is set up for a younger crowd where they can get wild and crazy, and then we have a family-oriented Mardi Gras that’s out in a suburb called Metairie.”

But all of the locals aren’t as excited about the Mardi Gras festivities.
Steven Corr, 47, has lived in New Orleans for 15 years, and said it can sometimes be a pain.

“I have to go work,” Corr said. “So to me it’s just ‘what do I have do to get there’? ”
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, things changed.
Many locals didn’t want the storm to stop the celebration and the city compromised and the 2006 celebration still happened. But all of the New Orleans parades were restricted to the section of the city which escaped much of the flooding.

Some said the hurricane cleansed New Orleans, in a way.
Corr said he reflected on his life and felt he had personal growth afterwards.
“Within me, I almost felt the storm was cleansing,” Corr said. “I know that sounds horrible. I’ve watched everything on the news, and the way I feel after the storm, honestly, it was a change of life for me.”

Baubier agreed that New Orleans is now different.
“Everything seems to be more under control,” he said. “The crowds are a lot lighter, people are a lot nicer, rules are a lot harsher and a lot stricter. You see a lot less fighting. The hurricane has pretty much pulled everybody together. If you ain’t in on the common cause, you in some trouble.”

Driving down Canal Street, dozens of tents can be seen under a bridge, one of the places the homeless have landed. Homeless residents have always been a part of New Orleans, but seem to have been more prominent since Katrina.

Baubier said he believes many of them are just lazy and aren’t taking the help the city is offering.

“It’s like they want help, and the city reaches out to help them and they slap it away,” he said. “I don’t believe in homeless. I was a poor kid from the ghetto and I went out and got it done. I don’t believe in someone that don’t get off their ass and go get it done. They have shelters and homes, but they would rather park out in front of fields and in front of City Hall. The state has a surplus economy this year ... he who helps themselves.”

Samuels said he believes that people have more of an appreciation for the city since the hurricane.

“I mean, we always appreciated Mardi Gras, but I think in the last few years there’s not just an appreciation for Mardi Gras but for the music and culture and everything else that makes New Orleans a great city.”

In the two years since Katrina, Mardi Gras has continued and is back in full force. Many believe it keeps the city going and the residents happy.

“People are in a festive mood,” Samuels said. “People have a tendency to go out a little more. Like during any holiday season, people are just in a better mood.”

Whether you go for the beads, the parades, the booze, the family fun or anything in between, Mardi Gras is definitely an experience you won’t forget.

“People who come here from somewhere else, who don’t have that opportunity to drink while they’re on the street, and get a chance to kind of be wild without getting in trouble for it is a big reason for some for Mardi Gras,” Samuels said.

Baubier agreed and added that it’s just a great experience.
“I enjoy it,” he said. “I think it’s great for the city. It gives us nationwide publicity, it’s a good thing.