Happy Mardi Gras! To get you in the mood, play this while you’re reading.
I have to start this post with my favorite Mardi Gras quote by Chris Rose. He encapsulates the atmosphere I have such a hard time trying to explain to my friends who’ve never been to Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras has always been a family event for me. My mom, dad and I have been going to the same spot on St. Charles for years, and I love seeing new families with little kids starting the same tradition. I knew people knew about Bourbon Street, but I didn’t realize that was the only idea they had about Mardi Gras. It’s so much more than that. It’s going to parades with friends and family, but becoming friends with the people standing next to you on the parade route or in line for a bowl of red beans. It’s dancing to the wobble in the middle of the street between parades with a crowd of strangers. It’s costumes, music and kids playing catch and frisbee with old friends and new friends and just for a day friends. Mardi Gras is an atmosphere and an energy of friendliness and revelry.
-
- Lucher High School Marching Band in the Krewe of Tucks on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.
-
- A float from the Krewe of Endymion representing the 2013 theme “Ancient Mysteries” on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.
-
- Scottish walking krewe and band in the Krewe of Okeanos Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.
-
- The Skull and Bones krwew also marched in Sunday’s parades.
-
- The St. Augustine High School Marching 100. The Purple Knights marched in two parades Sunday afternoon and evening.
-
- Sophie B. Wright Charter School’s drum major Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013
-
- High schools from across the country come to march every year. This group is from Houston.
-
- The Krewe of Mid City is famous for its unique tin foil floats. The krewe rolls on Mardi Gras Sunday.
-
- Parade goers pass the time in beteeen parades Sunday afternoon on St. Charles.
-
- Everyone is friends on the route when the wobble comes on!
-
- The Pocket Aces Brass Band is another walking krewe from the Krewe of Bacchus parade on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.
-
- The Clydesdales pull the Budweiser cart every year in Bacchus.
-
- The Purple Knights’ drum line in their second parade of the day Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.
-
- Bacchus, named for the god of wine, rolls this classic float with the krewe’s emblem every year.
-
- O. Perry Walker High School marched in Bacchus Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.
-
- Mardi Gras mask float from the Krewew of Endymion Saturyday, Feb. 9, 2013.
AMANDA LABROT 