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MCC Mardi Gras nameplate seems to use an ai-generated Master Chief. Is this okay? : halo
Main Post: MCC Mardi Gras nameplate seems to use an ai-generated Master Chief. Is this okay? : halo
Have you ever experienced Mardi Gras?
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If so, what was your experience like?
If not, is it a "must do at least once before I die"?
EDIT: Doesn't have to be in the U.S. Other places call it "Carnival" as well
Top Comment:
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a must do. But if wherever you live locally has a community of those who celebrate it (including New Orleans and the surrounding areas, for that matter), try to see if you can celebrate it with them.
Went to Mardi Gras for the first time this year and loved it. Wanna do it again next year but differently/correctly (hotel, parades, tours)
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Hey everyone, so as the title suggests I was just at Mardi Gras and had a blast. I can't believe I was initially on the fence about going when my buddy first asked if I wanted to go.
How we did it this year: we got an AirBnB that was ~25min walk to Bourbon. We were there from Fri 2/25 - Mon 2/28 and spent the whole time drinking in the French Quarter. Not that there was anything wrong with that because the culture shock of Mardi Gras itself was enough to keep our group of 13 guys+girls entertained.
I've already made up my mind that I want to go again next year (and perhaps every year...), but I'd like to do it right. After doing some reading on this sub, the things on my checklist are:
- Don't stay in an AirBnB due to their socioeconomic impact. Instead look for a hotel or a real Bed and Breakfast. I'm 100% on board with this
- See a parade
- Bring a costume/more accessories/more beads
- Go on a tour and actually learn about NOLA (important to me especially as a guitar player and all-around music lover)
- Expand my horizons beyond the French Quarter
- Stretch goal: attend a ball
Therefore some questions I had for you guys are:
- How soon should I start looking into a hotel or Bread and Breakfast for 2023 Mardi Gras? I imagine they get booked up pretty fast.
- To go along with #1, hypothetically if the same group of 13 people (and perhaps more) wanted to go again, would you recommend a hotel or Bread and Breakfast? I assume a Bread and Breakfast can only hold so many people, but I do like the idea of a common area where we'd all be able to hang out and pregame similar to how we did in the AirBnB which was half the fun. Perhaps we'd just need to split up where our group is staying.
- Would it be worth it to try to find a hotel on Bourbon St itself in order to have our own balcony? Obviously the balcony would be clutch, but I imagine sleep and the ruckus of Bourbon St don't mix well.
- How does one get tickets to a ball? Is there a website you buy them through or do you contact someone in a Krewe? How would I determine which Krewe's ball to go to? How considerable is a ball for people who are just visiting?
I'm also open to any other recommendations/tips/tricks you may have regarding the other items on my checklist.
Thank you for putting up with that wall of text and see you at next year's Mardi Gras!
Top Comment:
You didn’t see a parade?
The /r/NewOrleans Mardi Gras Guide
Main Post: The /r/NewOrleans Mardi Gras Guide
First Time Visit, Mardi Gras 2024 Very appreciative of any input.
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Hi guys, my wife and I are going to be visiting the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Mardi Gras in 2024 aboard the Celebrity Constellation.
I have done a bit of reading on this reddit in order to level set my expectations for what can be reasonably accomplished in a short trip during Carnival and would appreciate any input that would help us get the most from our time.
Our plan is fairly loose and has lots of room to just 'find the fun' but a nudge in the right direction would be great!
Here's what I had in mind and following that a couple questions:
So far the only things I would like to accomplish are on Monday evening take in Proteus and Orpheus and on Tuesday Zulu and Rex.
I was considering purchasing access to a grandstand through a website for the parades? We're a little older and would appreciate access to washrooms and a place to sit for a minute (we won't be able to pack chairs) even at the cost of being a bit further away from the action wondering if that would be a reasonable trade off?
Our plan is to walk to the parades on both Monday and Tuesday rather than deal with traffic to and from and will likely just have street food for meals.
For questions:
-Understanding that we should be arriving realtively early for the parades, roughly how early for Monday evening and Tuesday Morning?
-Following the parade, (particularly on Tuesday) what might be a good direction to head? We're not wild partiers or anything like that, but we'd like to take in some of the atmosphere, maybe somewhere with some music perhaps a drink and a bite? Any suggestions would be welcome :)
-Would uber back to our accomodations later on in the night be a thing or should we just stick to walking?
-This is a stretch goal but my wife would really love a ghost tour but from the research we've concluded it's not likely feasible Monday or Tuesday, I figured I would ask if something like that would be doable Wednesday? I suspect we wouldn't be up for too too much that morning and we depart around supper that night, probably not doable on this type of schedule? (would give us a reason to come back, I'd like to come back on a food binge anyhow!)
Thank you for your time, I appreciate it!
Top Comment:
The whole Quarter will be celebrating on Tuesday, you don’t need to walk in any particular direction to enjoy. St. Ann’s on Royal is fun. And for god’s sake, don’t buy beads. It’s over on Wednesday, so that might be a nice quiet day to just sight see.
I'm going to Mardi Gras alone- any advice?
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Hi guys,
I (22, f) have wanted to visit New Orleans for mardi gras for several years and can never find anyone to go with me, so I've decided to go alone. I'm in my 2nd year of law school and want to experience it before I'm a lawyer working 80 hour weeks!
I'm a very experienced traveler and am very used to traveling alone, just not in a big party sort of environment.
Does anyone have any tips or advice for someone in my situation? Where can I go to meet people? Where should I stay away from? (Don't worry, I know not to get smashed alone in the street!)
Any advice is appreciated :)
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Don't forget to bring a towel!
Best weekend to come for Mardi Gras + activities
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Hi there- I know that there are a ton of Mardi Gras posts, and I’m pretty sure I read though all of them, but I apologize in advance if this shouldn’t be a new post.
I’m in charge of planning a bachelor party to NOLA next year during Mardi Gras. He wants to go during Mari Gras and get a mix of drinking, eating, culture (he’s a history buff), and do a bayou tour.
We’re going to take a long weekend in February to do this (Thursday/Friday - Sunday night). What weekend do you all recommend? I’m thinking either:
- Weekend before Fat Tuesday (2/8-2/11): This weekend sounds amazing but will we be able to do any tours given how crowded it’ll be?
- Or the weekend before that (2/1-2/4)- If we choose this weekend will we miss out on the Mardi Gras experience?
Thank you in advance!
Top Comment:
Honestly, if y’all wanna come for Mardi Gras, do Mardi Gras (weekend 1) and genuinely abandon all plans to do anything other than eat drink and parade. I would not recommend doing tours that weekend but here’s the thing, you’re not gonna wanna do tours, you and your tour guides are gonna be hungover and wishing y’all were just doing the thing. Don’t trouble yourselves with logistics and getting rides that will cost more than they should due to price surging and take longer than they should due to maddening traffic. The weekend before Mardi Gras is magic, lean into it, have a blast.
If the bachelor really wants to do history stuff/tours do weekend 2. There will be uptown parades and bourbon street will be bourbon street but the rest of the city will still be functioning... somewhat
Mardi Gras Guide - Did I miss anything? Is it to long (in-concise)?
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Mardi Gras Guide
-General Advice
- Don’t plan on vacationing in New Orleans during Mardi Gras unless you are coming specifically for Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is also the worst time to experience the "real New Orleans" as the entire city is centered around the parades. Most restaurants and attractions will be closed and there will be insanely long wait times for the ones that are open.
- Mardi Gras lasts for weeks prior to Fat Tuesday. The parades will get better and the crowds will get bigger the closer we get to Fat Tuesday. The biggest / best parades will actually roll the weekend before Fat Tuesday.
- During parades, there is a Sidewalk Side and a Neutral Ground Side. The Neutral Ground Side is the (usually) grassy median running between lanes of traffic on an avenue - also where the streetcar tracks are. The Sidewalk Side is the side with... The sidewalk. This is important because you'll hear locals say something like "I'll be Uptown between Seventh & Eighth on the Sidewalk Side."
- Taxi cabs will be very hard to get. Public transportation will be very limited and unreliable. Plan on staying within walking distance of your hotel.
- Bring plenty of cash – but don’t keep all of it on you. Credit / debit card systems have a tendency to go down during Mardi Gras. ATMs will run out of cash.
- Cell service is usually very hit-and-miss.
- Wear comfortable clothing that can get dirty. Plan on throwing away or burning your shoes after Mardi Gras is over. Account for the fact that during Mardi Gras the weather can be cool and wet.
- There are no public bathrooms. If you find a bathroom, use it – even if you don’t think you need to. NOPD takes public urination very seriously and you’ll be arrested if caught.
- Glass containers of any kind (including beer bottles) are illegal.
- If you are arrested any time during Mardi Gras weekend, you will not get out until the following Wednesday. Don’t do things that will get you arrested or you will spend your entire vacation in jail.
-New Orleans Police
- Do not bother the police (see footnote 1). They are not your friends, they are not part of the show, and they are not your tour guide. They are there to perform crowd control and are doing so on long shifts with very little sleep. Do not ask them for directions, do not ask for pictures with them, do not look at them, assume any contact you have with them will turn out negatively for you.
- NOPD mounted patrol (aptly referred to as the “white knights of New Orleans” by one redditor) are dangerous. They are specifically there for crowd control – hence the reason they high-step and trot at an angle. Stay out of their way and do not try to pet the horses.
- One big misconception about Mardi Gras is that things that are normally illegal are suddenly legal. Drug possession or use (including marijuana - See footnote 2), public indecency or exposure (more on that later), public urination, glass containers, assault (including sexual), vandalism and trespassing are all illegal. Even if you haven’t done any of those things and you just generally do something the NOPD doesn’t like, they will get you on public intoxication.
- Just because someone hasn’t been caught doing something they shouldn’t, doesn’t mean you won’t get caught doing the same thing.
- Again, if you get arrested, you will most likely spend the remainder of your vacation in jail – or at least until the Wednesday following Mardi Gras.
-French Quarter
- There are no parades in the French Quarter except small walking parades without floats. The closest the parades get to the Quarter is Canal St.
- Mardi Gras in the French Quarter is a very touristy experience and you’ll find very few locals. It’s mostly younger tourists spilling beer on each other.
- Females flashing their breasts in the French Quarter is permitted. It’s not technically legal, but it is overlooked by the police. Flashing of genitalia by either sex is never permitted and strictly enforced.
- Groping women is illegal and will usually end in getting your ass kicked by their boyfriend who is much bigger than you.
- Bourbon Street has a "straight" section and a "gay" section. The cut-off is St. Ann. Once you cross it heading East, the rules will change dramatically.
- There are lots of pickpockets. Take only the necessities and keep them in your front pockets.
- The Quarter will be much less crowded during the day than at night.
-Uptown
- Mardi Gras is Uptown is much more low-key and family-friendly. This will become increasingly apparent as you travel west along St. Charles from Canal going toward Napoleon. There will be kids everywhere, lots of food, lots of beer, and you’ll catch a lot of throws (Mardi Gras beads).
- Never, ever flash in Uptown (including women). You’ll end up dealing with the police if a bunch of angry parents don’t get to you first.
- If you need to pee, you’ll find people charging to use their port-o-potty along the route. These are not public – they are ones that people have personally rented.
- Do not mess with someone’s ladder in any way.
- Everyone will be drinking, but getting belligerently drunk is not tolerated – that’s what the French Quarter is for.
- Respect other people’s “spot”.
- Do not snatch beads from kids. If a member of a krewe is clearly trying to throw to kid, and you accidently catch the throw (it happens), it’s polite to give it to the kid.
- When a marching band comes by, GET BACK and give other people room to do the same.
- Never throw beads or anything else at krewe members.
- There will be huge cleanup each day after the last parade rolls. It's kind of fun to watch - especially if you have kids. For the most part, it will look like the parades never even happened.
- The cardinal rule of Uptown is to respect others and don’t be a dick. Keep in mind that it’s a family event and if you act like a dick, people will come together very quickly against you. That said, if you’re polite and friendly it will be very easy to make friends.
-Footnotes
- Some people brought up the fact that as you get more Uptown, the police get nicer / more helpful. I'll maintain that as a general rule, don't interact with the police. Your mileage may vary.
- In the original post, someone brought up that marijuana possession under one ounce is a misdemeanor. A second offence is a felony. Due to conflicting laws, the NOPD has the option to give you a summons; however in the overwhelming majority of cases you will be arrested. It's best to just leave the pot at home.
-Links
Top Comment:
Great list and a great job overall but I have a few notes:
-A friend of mine works in NOPD. For the most part, it's true that you don't want to fuck with cops (especially when you get further downtown) but I've found them very helpful when needed and they're usually the only sober people around for a few blocks. Also, she said that, every year, officers are specifically instructed to turn a blind eye towards most behavior as long as it's not causing a disturbance towards others.
-Remember that New Orleans decriminalized the possession of marijuana back in 2010. If you get caught with less than an ounce, you'll get a summons (a parking ticket, basically) and won't have to go to jail (unless you're clearly a dealer selling. Then you're fucked).
-Instead of saying "Mardi Gras in the French Quarter is only for tourists", I think you can just say "Mardi Gras on Bourbon St. is only for tourists". I've been here since 2007 and masking in the Quarter on Mardi Gras Day is my favorite experience during all of Carnival. There are a TON of locals out in the Quarter on Fat Tuesday, especially after Rex and Zulu finish rolling. You can spot locals cause they're usually in a great costume or part of walking parades that go through the Quarter.
-Last but not least: On Mardi Gras Day, ANYONE can parade. You don't need a permit and you don't need to be part of a recognized crew. If you and 20 friends decide you want to put a cooler of (canned) beer in a shopping cart with a boom box and march down a bunch of streets, you can so long as you don't get in the way of the St. Charles parades. This is how the Krewe of St. Anne works and it's an incredible experience.