NEW ORLEANS, LA (WCMH/AP) — The countdown to Mardi Gras has begun!
New Orleans is entering the height of its annual pre-Lenten Carnival season, culminating on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which falls on Feb. 28 this year. Travelers to the city face an abundance of choices on how, when and where to take it all in.
New Orleans’ major parades, the ones with marching bands and masked riders who throw beads and other trinkets from elaborate floats, begin this year on Feb. 17. Most follow a route along historic St. Charles Avenue onto Canal Street, the broad downtown boulevard at the edge of the French Quarter – although the giant floats of Endymion, the celebrity-studded procession set for Feb. 25, lumber through the Mid-City neighborhood.
Mardi Gras is a day-long costume party in the French Quarter and along the parade routes.
Sometimes the costumes are simple: multi-colored wigs, glittery masks, oversized hats.
Sometimes they are elaborate: shimmering bodysuits with huge feather headdresses fanning out from the wearers’ heads and shoulders like peacock tails.
Some of the most intricate, elaborate and, sometimes, outrageous are on display at the annual Bourbon Street awards at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann, where prize categories include best drag and best leather.