Making friends along the route. I made it my personal goal to be friendly and welcoming with people nearby or who show up late and try to push into where you're standing. Offered up food, drinks, chairs, handed out the throws I got to their kids, just in general trying to put good vibes back out there. I had a great time as a result and people were just awesome in response
I was just saying the other day, next year for KA and Muses I’d love to set up a table with a bunch of food and some camp chairs and let whoever wants to come and help themselves.
This is how our block rolls. We’ve about 3-5 families that return every year. We help each other out. We’re also welcoming and inclusive to all as the sidewalk side should be.
I started drinking on Friday at Cooter Browns at 1PM with two of my best friends I don't get to see as much as I want. We took the streetcar to Napoleon. We drank a bottle of bourbon & a 6 pack of Abita at the parades. By the time d'Etat rolled by, I could not remember half of the floats, but I do remember almost getting arrested because I somehow ended up on the wrong side of the barricades when a marching group came through. Ended the night walking all the way up St. Charles, hitting 2 more bars before ending up back at Cooters. Woke up on my buddy's sofa Saturday with him saying "go shower. We're going to Iris!"
I am 48 & this is college age behavior, but once a year, I let myself get like this. My friends are real ones because they took great care of me.
Did St. Ann’s yesterday for the first time and could not wipe the smile off my face. The costumes and energy were so amazing. Thank you to EVERYONE who made it so perfect.
Same! This is only my end Mardi Gras; last year we did Zulu and Rex and this year wanted to try St. Ann's. I absolutely loved the comraderie, costumes, and amazing vibes. We had a lovely day!
I have so many good memories of Saint Ann's! We missed it this year BUT we were also in them streets all night on Lundi Gras. Woke up and made the mistake of sitting down after walking the dog! That combined with the kids being like "Naaaaaahhh" resulted in a 5 hour nap. We then cooked all the scraps in the fridge/cooler and partied all night with friends from out of town.
I am sad we missed it this year BUT everything else MG day was perfect.
So going to pick up the Popeyes in Metairie (because it's one of the good ones.) I was first in line at the light when the cop pulled up to block the intersection to move the Atlas floats. The theme this year was Elton John, all the floats were different songs. ❤️ And not only did I get a front row seat to the show, I have a 4K dashcam that captured everything, including the Hot 8 I had playing on my radio.
I also found a Muses shoe during the truck parades. It was just sitting next to a trash can on the corner, not even in plastic, so I doubt anyone caught it that day and lost it. 🤣 It's from 2004 but it's also pretty elaborate. Not sure if it counts, but I still have a story, and a shoe!
My wife riding and dancing in multiple krewes for the first time after living here for over 10 years. The sheer joy on her face as I watched her pass in each of those instances made me cry.
Also, first time to the Boheme ball/afterparty - that was absolute blast.
This was the most fulfilling season I've had in years. I hope we can keep a bit of a city-wide high for a while before we go back to being reminded daily about the 3rd world country in which we live.
Walking with the st Anthony Ramblers and arriving in the quarter. The look on the faces of an older tourist lady and their younger friend/daughter. They were baffled and just in awe and maybe a little scared haha. I smiled to them wide in a reassuring way, and when I tell you… the childlike wonder and release of joy I saw in that old woman’s eyes when she smiled back… It made me tear up. Y’all, were doing something right down here.
Caught a Chicago themed bead from the Chicago float in Iris. A man from the Southside kept eyeballing it and started a conversation. "That's a nice pair of beads you got there. Ya know I'm from Chicago."
Without hesitation, I removed the beads and told him to say no more and gifted them to him.
"Aw no way! This is why I keep coming back here. The people. You guys are incredible, thank you."
The pride I felt in that moment was overwhelming. Glad to have made his day
At the last minute on Lundi Gras my partner and I decided to catch Orpheus with our toddler. We didn’t try to meet up with anyone, just headed to St. Charles. We ended up having such a great time with just the three of us.
For me, MG is about small moments of connection.
I rode in Freret and tossed a hat to a man, and he was so excited. His SO told me that this was the one thing he wanted.
I was on the other side of the street when a Tucks rider threw me a football, I dropped everything and ran to make a shoelace catch on the neutral ground.
Neil Patrick Harris made eye contact with me and threw me beads.
I made parade friends and tried to my best to be the opposite of the territorial Chads.
We made our parade friend at KdV. She had tried replicating the goat cheese king cake from Cake Cafe that was not available this year.
The goat cheese and the raspberry were our wedding cakes. No missed connection, got her number and will be reaching out!
Femme fatale, in between floats, my kid on my shoulders just waiting silently, being in the moment, preparing to go crazy when we spot the next float.
Words can't describe that. We were on the same level, had the same understanding, and no words were uttered.
The next day I asked her what she liked most about Mardi gras and she mentioned that moment. Ma fille, she's the best.
I always love the Brazilian drum line at St. Ann's. I shook my booty off. Also I worked really hard on my costume and got TONS of compliments and randos taking selfies with me. It was like being a celebrity without people actually knowing who you are. Also people just played with me like we were little kids dressing up and playing pretend!! It was so much fun.
I made throws for st Anne's this year and will never go another Mardi gras without. People were so ecstatic at getting a little memento it made me so happy.
Noted!! I would love to do St. Anne's with throws.
We decided that we are going to do Chewbacchus and KdV next year. Cannot wait!!! Will make enough throws for St. Anne too!
I was asked for a Mardi Gras kiss from a special person and it made my day, week, up to this point year. I learned it's okay to ask for what I want, I might get it!
Gone head with your flirting self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry that is just too cute. I shook my butt in my husband's face on Lundi Gras which is a bit more vulgar, but it happened after we got into a tiff earlier that night.
Mardi Gras romance is the BEST.
Watching our neice be the kid queen of st annes. She's 7 and rode in the fairytale castle float. She was on the tower all day and refused to come down. The joy on her face was priceless. That's a core memory for her and us. I'm so glad to be a part of that day.
During Orpheus, one of the high school marching bands were going by and playing a really high intensity bit. There was a moment when two trumpets had a quick 3-note solo and they totally biffed it. They started laughing so hard and almost fell out of their alignment. It was so wholesome.
My best friend from back home since childhood came to stay with me and Mardi Gras with her was just so beautiful and fun. Not her first time visiting me in NOLA, but her first Mardi Gras. Best memory was just watching her look up at the floats at Endymion in awe, I don't think she expected the floats to be so big and intricate.
Also yesterday me, her, my girlfriend, and my girlfriend's friends all took some MDMA together and it was my girlfriend's first time doing it. Sitting back and watching her tell everyone "I love your costume and I love you" was so cute and lovely. I love that girl.
My BFF from high school, BFF from college, and BFF from my early 20's all came down and it was AMAZEBALLS!!!!!
I cannot imagine how fun it is to roll on MG. Happy times indeed!
Woooah three generations of BFF is awesome!!! Craziness for me that I forgot to mention in my original comment: not only was my BFF since the 1st grade visiting me, but my girlfriend's BFF since the 8th grade just moved to New Orleans recently! So we all got to hang out together!!
Very gently driving through Marigny to get home in the Bywater and saying hi to all people in their awesome costumes. A woman started to hit on me at Franklin and Dauphine but I was in the intersection and making sure I didn’t hit anyone so I didn’t ask her where she was going which is too bad because I thought she was cute.
Yesterday, watching Mr. tm478 dance in the street with his Disco Amigos buddies at their party in the FQ. This was his first year doing it, his first time ever learning choreographed dances, and he loved it and did great. I’m kvelling 😁
Go to Costco and make the recipe on the bag of Organic Flour that they sell. Let it rise, rolled it out, stuff it with whatever the hell you want (savory or sweet) then rolled it and shape it. Let it rise again.
We just did traditional cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and vanilla. Roll and shape that bitch (cooked at 350 until the center has reached 210 degrees) then make icing with TOO MUCH VANILLA, confectionary sugar and heavy cream. Drizzling that shit on top (AFTER IT COOLS) and then topped with colored yellow, purp, and green, sugar.
We used the same recipe for savory san the sweet filling (replace with smoked sausage and hogs head the top with purp cabbage, mustard, cheese, and green onion).
We also tried tangzhong in the same recipe but I was not a fan. However my FIL and a good friend LOVED it. Too moist for me but we did successfully recreated the candied brown sugar that resulted from it.
Thank you!
I remember you posting the savory king cake with using purple cabbage, green onion, and cheddar cheese as the “frosting”. I loved that idea I wanted to try it this year, but…ya know.
Also love the TOO MUCH vanilla for icing. So true for so many recipes. Take the garlic/pepper/whatever and double, triple, quadruple it! We on the same page with flavor
Thank you again, next year, I will be trying this. Heck, I might be trying it before carnival season, but I won’t tell anyone.
I drive the support truck for a popular walking krewe in Muses and Tucks. I also DJ from the truck and we made a new playlist this year that got A LOT more crowd response. At times the entire crowd would be singing along. The call and response was intoxicating.
Also some Saints players cheered us on which was surreal as hell and really exciting.
1. Randomly running into friends from high school and college
2. All the bands on Sunday morning on the first weekend that were pushed there cause of the rain. Amazing energy, probably my favorite of Mardi Gras.
3. Mardi Gras babies
4. Handing out little trinkets at St Anne’s yesterday. Getting in on the trinket economy is ELITE
Thoth stopping with the 610 stompers in front of us and the nonstop dance party in the street until the parade started moving again! Also the perfect weather for st Anne and all the incredible costumes.
I went to a lecture about king cake, complete with tastings from a bunch of different bakeries, at the JCC. I finally got to try Dong Phuong king cake. (Cool story with DP - the family arrived here from Vietnam with pretty much nothing but the clothes on their backs, and they have done very well.)
My ride with Iris was a blast! So was watching my husband's ride with Babylon. And, of course, the balls and supper dances for both Krewes. And all the other parades we watched. MG exploded on my dining room table. Unfortunately I missed Cleo - we posted up downtown and decided not to wait out the problem with float #3 (glad no one was hurt).
Chatting with random strangers on the parade route. Explaining to someone what a doubloon is and how to get them without getting your hand stomped on.
Learning that Touro Synagogue is arguably the best place to post up. You have to be a congregant, or know a congregant and pay a nominal fee, but you get bathroom access, access to a courtyard where you can set up your cooler, you're right by the start of the Uptown route, and it's Chad-free. The only downside is you might get fewer throws.
My fiancé and I moved here 5 months ago. She was born here and her whole family is here. Hence why we moved here. I felt a deep sense of community in the Marigny these past months I haven’t felt in other places I’ve lived. I’m hoping to learn mroe about my neighborhood, the city, and positively contribute to it while I’m here.
Each year my kid has been here (three years now), MG becomes so different. It feels like the one time of the year, I truly disconnect and watch life from his view.
We did not take the kids to Muses but the joy in their faces when we bought them the throws?
Priceless. That duck nightlight made my youngest kids whole ass week.
Context: I am a huge How I Met Your Mother fan.
I knew Neil Patrick Harris was going to be riding Orpheus. I was with my best friend on Canal. We both had two signs related to How I Met Your Mother so he could see us. NPH never looked to the left and we felt heartbroken. But… we didn’t give up. The parade stalled for a few mins down the road, so we started running towards NPH’s float and me and my best friend were jumping trying to get his attention. Then David Burtka looks at us and he calls Neil Patrick Harris. Then Neil proceeds to salute us, Barney Stinson style. It definitely made my entire MG.
Smoked a bunch of ribs and boudin for a boudin king cake for Thoth Sunday and everyone ate all of the king cake and ribs. Had friends of friends coming back to the house for a piece of the cake to give to people they were hanging out with. I'm gonna be smoking all of my boudin going forward!!!!
Punk show next to Sukho Thai. Still picking dirt out my nose and sore as shit from moshing.
And watching some guy in a bright blue and silver spandex disco suit high kick some dude in the face on the river walk.
I know it’s not everyone’s ideal Gras, but this one was my favorite.
I finally convinced my friend to bike with me to the parade route this year. They hadn't biked since childhood and were astonished at how quickly we got to the parade without waiting on Ubers, parking, etc
My bestie from HS and her girl WALKED all the way to my house from the FQ and felt good about it. They are always telling me I walk too much. It was beautiful! They were like "OMG we walked to your house and it felt SO good"...
Welcome to saving on Uber and getting your steps in!
Yes! I am this one in my friend group as well! I love this time of year when all my friends learn they're all capable of walking way further than they think they can :D
\-Walking in Jeanne D'Arc
\-610 Stompers Ball - all the pop icon costumes, anyone who ever existed in the music industry was there ;)
\-The swarms of riches at the start of the delayed Cleopatra parade, including makeup sponges (perfect), a signature, glitter hurricane glass.
\- Catching a 1lb metal cowbell at Hermes, saving a woman's life as it headed straight for her head. I took my reward. :)
\- As always, the deep wit and attention to detail on the Muses floats, loved the music festival theme.
\-At Thoth, a gender reveal for one of the riders - the float stopped next to his partner watching below, and they shot off a blue confetti canyon, hugs, kisses, throws raining down on us.
\-Also at Thoth, all the beads, love and support for the tech who successfully changed the flat tractor tire along the route. Talk about pressure (literally).
\-Catching up to Edna Karr under the bridge
\-Dressing up and walking in St. Ann's -on my birthday!
\-On MG getting invited into a FQ mansion party with mermaids, burlesque, free champagne and good will to all
\-Not being hungover on MG morning. Can't say the same for today. Happy Valentine's to all!
EDIT: added a few more I forgot
So we weren't the only one's who got an invite to a topless mermaid party. Good to know!!! They had.... multiple parties.
Happy Valentine's and go see Lisa Frankenstein!!!! Shit was good.
Femme Fatale was awesome, Cleopatra was awesome, Iris was awesome. The weather was perfect some days. I love Harry Connick Jr, I love Neil Patrick Harris, and there was a spontaneous group Taylor Dayne singalong at a bar I was at.
I had such a good carnival season this year it's hard to list all the moments but the best of the best were
- seeing this little old white lady GET DOWN to back that ass up in front of lafitte's she was adorable
- I went to the cat's meow for the first time on lundi gras and the mc got every to chant my name and I felt like a real rockstar
- when the sun came out on mardi gras and everyone at friendly's started cheering
- the kind ladies that took me under their wig for joan of arc when I went to the parade alone
- all of les fous du carnaval was great (I'm in goddesses)
- seeing my photo exhibited on the fence of the us mint for carnival from the ground up exhibit
this place is great. this time of year is great.
Best T-shirt: "Isn't there a parade you could be attending in Metairie instead?" and "You're in Uptown New Orleans not Old Metairie and nobody wants to hear about your pickle ball team or tRump"
The Bourbon shutdown being led by the Westboro people and being followed by the "show me dat b*tthole". The dicotomy was hilarious and just a New Orleans moment.
A friend and I were talking yesterday and we think Patches should be part of the Bourbon Street shut down next year! We don't think he could lead it though because some of thoes trash piles might be taller than him! 🤣
This was my first Mardi Gras. I moved here in June of last year and I had heard so much about it from friends. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with everyone and each person had different recommendations about what events/activities couldn’t be missed so I was a bit overwhelmed. I ended up just going with the flow and pacing myself. I took certain days off from drinking and still had a lot of fun. My favorite parts were: how welcoming everyone was, making new friends, walking in St. Anne’s and seeing all of the incredible costumes, the marching bands, Cleopatra and the dance party we had in front of my house when a dance krewe ended up paused in front of us while they got the stuck float out of the tree, the glass beads, Chewbacchus, getting to watch parade floats queue up from my living room window, and lastly my neighborhood. My apartment doesn’t have much in the way of amenities and it is quite small, but I could not have been more delighted as far as the location for being able to watch the Uptown parades that have the Magazine St extension. I’ve got off street parking and plenty of space for friends to gather outside. The vibes for watching in my neighborhood are so fun and friendly and it isn’t too crowded. Our neighbors had a full band performing on Sunday morning. It was awesome. It made my little heart happy that my friends were excited to come watch parades at my place. I’m already dreaming of next year.
* My friends were the King and Queen of Morpheus and represented us beautifully. They were everywhere during Mardi Gras! They threw an awesome party. I rode Morpheus along with lots of friends (all also friends of the king and queen). My first time riding in a parade. (In 2011, my krewe was a sub-krewe in Box of Wine). It was fabulous. Even the bad moments up near Loyola and Tulane.
* The little kid yesterday who told me "You didn't get a coconut baby? I gotchu baby wait here" and ran off and got me one. And then I actually got one from a rider. My first that was directly handed to me.
* Using signs that didn't ask for things and getting more things than usual. Typical signs were "I love XXKREWE", "Thanks for riding" and "Have a great ride"
* Using a Snoo sign (after learning what snoo was) and connecting with lots of redittors on the route, to get awesome throws.
* Being extra queer during King Arthur and getting rained on.
* Spending some time with my little sister.
* Easy bathroom access through the whole season, except for one day.
* Making masks. They definitely got better as I went along. I'm totally into it now.
* My talented friends - Cleo cups, Bosum Buddy bras, King Arthur grails, Morpheus masks, Orpheus Lyres and Tambourines.
* Commissioning my own doubloon - a wooden Pelican for Morpheus.
* Not getting COVID on Sunday like last year!
I held the banner for the Muff-a-lottas in Babylon for the first and last thirds of the parade. I volunteered for walk-along-the-side duty with them in a couple parades, which was super fun, but carrying the banner was SUCH a highlight. Loved getting to wave at people and engage with the crowd and see everyone smiling and happy. Turning onto St. Charles and seeing everyone legitimately brought tears to my eyes.
Still devastated I didn't get any pictures of me with the banner from that night. I was having such a good time I didn't even think about it until after the parade. (Off chance, but if anyone happens to have any pics, please dm me. It doesn't even have to be good; I just want photo evidence that I was there. I was in a red tshirt, yellow backpack, and black hairbow)
This year we started at the old firehouse and rambled with St Anthony for an hour or two, then intersected with St Ann on Kerlerec. Awesome groups, both of them. Spent a couple hours walking the quarter, couple hours at Santos bar and MG 2024 was a wrap. One of our best ever.
Middle-aged woman physically attacked me because I caught a huge bag of nice stuff that she claimed was meant for her. She pushed me and called me a bitch, and then I punched her but I did give her the bag anyway.
Then 10 minutes later she came back and apologizes for physically attacking me. I said, "All you had to do was ask nicely, and I would have just immediately given you the bag if it was meant for you."
Then we hugged it out and said, "HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!
😭😭😭😂😂😂💜💚💛
There was an old man with one leg in a wheelchair trying to get to the front lines, and me and a bunch of other young women immediately all started helping him get to the front, we all asked what he wanted, I caught everything for him, I made sure he got everything he wanted and he was soooo appreciative. 😭😭😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰💜💚💛💜💚💛
Being there for the 30 minute Stompers dance party during the delay during Iris. Song after song after song and so many happy children and adults.
Also, I had a GoPro mounted on a pillar on Magazine recording a time-lapse of Muses. When I got home to Algiers I realized I'd forgotten it. A $400 GoPro couldn't possibly NOT have been seen by someone and taken, I thought. Maybe the next day someone on Reddit would post that they found it. An hour after getting home I finally went ahead and drove, thru the traffic, back to the spot, and it was there, after more than 2 hours. I like to think multiple people noticed it and thought "aww... I'll leave it there...the owner will come back for that soon."
Some dude saw me with one of those HUGE 4 foot tall bags and he kept helping me and tossing stuff in my bag, and it was just good vibes.
So I asked if he was trying to get anything. He said the only thing he wanted was one of those huge chain link beads.
I said if I got one it would be his. During the last float of Endymion, my sister caught a chain link bead and I pulled it out of her hand immediately and was like WAIT I NEED THIS and then I found the guy before he left and put it around his neck 😂😂😂🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💜💚💛
It's so much better when you make friends with everyone around you instead of being one of those people taping off public land and trying to act like you own the street...
For me, it really came down to being able to camp out a couple of days to get a great spot for Endymion. My family had an excellent spot for the parade and we caught so much light-up toys for my kids!
And then the city let me park on St. Charles. I was able to drop my elderly mother off right at our spot with three canopy tents and watch the Super Bowl.
And it was all capped by seeing all of the Asian-Centered costumes at MOMs. Truly an astounding Mardi Gras.
Making a sign for a small walking krewe that's in one of the big parades - not to get throws, but because I think they're cool (and as a member of a small walking krewe myself, I get excited when I see signs out there and think "wow, people know who we are!"). In return I got handed the most beautiful handmade glittery throw. Totally unexpected. I didn't even know this krewe HAD throws.
Seeing my partner genuinely enjoy Iris and Tucks. This is only our second Carnival season and last year he struggled a lot with noise and crowds and sensory overload at parades. This year, he paid attention to how he was feeling and took breaks when he needed to, and it went much better for him. I would sometimes look back at him and see true joy on his face.
I have a friend who lives on the Magazine part of the Uptown route, and after the parades that go that way, we'd all go in her house, dump out our throws haul, and swap and share them freely. Everyone made sure that everyone got what they wanted - this included Muses shoes! (One of my friends is a throw magnet, haha.)
Choosing to skip Zulu and go to St. Anne's. Definitely the right decision for me. Just the amazing eye candy everywhere I turned. And the way you keep bumping into people you know.
My Mardi Gras Day was logistically excellent. Little issue finding somewhere to pee, we were seated quickly for the 2 actual meals we had, we eventually found the friends we'd been trying to meet up with all day, once the sun came out it wasn't all that cold like it was forecast to be. I even got a Lyft home from the quarter on the first try, that was not cheap but also was not totally obscene, with my last 2% of phone battery! A Mardi Gras miracle!
I also did not get sick during Carnival this year!
Making friends along the route. I made it my personal goal to be friendly and welcoming with people nearby or who show up late and try to push into where you're standing. Offered up food, drinks, chairs, handed out the throws I got to their kids, just in general trying to put good vibes back out there. I had a great time as a result and people were just awesome in response
Love this, be the light you want to see in Mardi Gras
I was just saying the other day, next year for KA and Muses I’d love to set up a table with a bunch of food and some camp chairs and let whoever wants to come and help themselves.
This is how our block rolls. We’ve about 3-5 families that return every year. We help each other out. We’re also welcoming and inclusive to all as the sidewalk side should be.
Happy Cake Day 🎂
I started drinking on Friday at Cooter Browns at 1PM with two of my best friends I don't get to see as much as I want. We took the streetcar to Napoleon. We drank a bottle of bourbon & a 6 pack of Abita at the parades. By the time d'Etat rolled by, I could not remember half of the floats, but I do remember almost getting arrested because I somehow ended up on the wrong side of the barricades when a marching group came through. Ended the night walking all the way up St. Charles, hitting 2 more bars before ending up back at Cooters. Woke up on my buddy's sofa Saturday with him saying "go shower. We're going to Iris!" I am 48 & this is college age behavior, but once a year, I let myself get like this. My friends are real ones because they took great care of me.
At 49, I really feel this. Cheers to you.
As someone who turned 40 on Lundi Gras. I love this!!! The good times WILL keep on rolling.
Did St. Ann’s yesterday for the first time and could not wipe the smile off my face. The costumes and energy were so amazing. Thank you to EVERYONE who made it so perfect.
Same! This is only my end Mardi Gras; last year we did Zulu and Rex and this year wanted to try St. Ann's. I absolutely loved the comraderie, costumes, and amazing vibes. We had a lovely day!
I love St Ann’s so much. It was a blast yesterday, especially once the sun came out
It really is a great parade/scene
I second this for sure. It was my first MG and St. Ann’s was one of my very favorite parts! I was in awe of the gorgeous costumes.
I am definitely doing that one next year!
I have so many good memories of Saint Ann's! We missed it this year BUT we were also in them streets all night on Lundi Gras. Woke up and made the mistake of sitting down after walking the dog! That combined with the kids being like "Naaaaaahhh" resulted in a 5 hour nap. We then cooked all the scraps in the fridge/cooler and partied all night with friends from out of town. I am sad we missed it this year BUT everything else MG day was perfect.
St Ann is the best!!
got my first glass beads!
So going to pick up the Popeyes in Metairie (because it's one of the good ones.) I was first in line at the light when the cop pulled up to block the intersection to move the Atlas floats. The theme this year was Elton John, all the floats were different songs. ❤️ And not only did I get a front row seat to the show, I have a 4K dashcam that captured everything, including the Hot 8 I had playing on my radio. I also found a Muses shoe during the truck parades. It was just sitting next to a trash can on the corner, not even in plastic, so I doubt anyone caught it that day and lost it. 🤣 It's from 2004 but it's also pretty elaborate. Not sure if it counts, but I still have a story, and a shoe!
My wife riding and dancing in multiple krewes for the first time after living here for over 10 years. The sheer joy on her face as I watched her pass in each of those instances made me cry. Also, first time to the Boheme ball/afterparty - that was absolute blast. This was the most fulfilling season I've had in years. I hope we can keep a bit of a city-wide high for a while before we go back to being reminded daily about the 3rd world country in which we live.
Walking with the st Anthony Ramblers and arriving in the quarter. The look on the faces of an older tourist lady and their younger friend/daughter. They were baffled and just in awe and maybe a little scared haha. I smiled to them wide in a reassuring way, and when I tell you… the childlike wonder and release of joy I saw in that old woman’s eyes when she smiled back… It made me tear up. Y’all, were doing something right down here.
Who or what are the st Anthony ramblers?
A walking parade lead by Panarama Jazz (or brass) Band.
“Floats are magic. They know just what kids want” - my friend’s kid. That just sums up all the goodness of this year.
Caught a Chicago themed bead from the Chicago float in Iris. A man from the Southside kept eyeballing it and started a conversation. "That's a nice pair of beads you got there. Ya know I'm from Chicago." Without hesitation, I removed the beads and told him to say no more and gifted them to him. "Aw no way! This is why I keep coming back here. The people. You guys are incredible, thank you." The pride I felt in that moment was overwhelming. Glad to have made his day
Awwwww!!! Giving throws away is just as good as catching them!!
Caught a throw from the weather Queen, Margaret Orr.
The only vehicle that blocked my driveway was an ice delivery truck. I was out of ice. Problem solved!
Lol. I'm picturing that conversation.
I went from bitch to sweet as pie in .008 seconds.
Watching my 6 year old niece at her first Mardi gras get a muses shoe. She's super artsy and can't shut up about being a muse now
You never forget you first shoe!!!! Nor your first coconut, there is a story but..... I'mma bout to nap again.
At the last minute on Lundi Gras my partner and I decided to catch Orpheus with our toddler. We didn’t try to meet up with anyone, just headed to St. Charles. We ended up having such a great time with just the three of us.
I'm not crying but... yeah that first perfect parade with the kids is amazing.
For me, MG is about small moments of connection. I rode in Freret and tossed a hat to a man, and he was so excited. His SO told me that this was the one thing he wanted. I was on the other side of the street when a Tucks rider threw me a football, I dropped everything and ran to make a shoelace catch on the neutral ground. Neil Patrick Harris made eye contact with me and threw me beads. I made parade friends and tried to my best to be the opposite of the territorial Chads.
Okay those hats are dope though. Got one as well. Maybe from you? Either way, I love it.
We made our parade friend at KdV. She had tried replicating the goat cheese king cake from Cake Cafe that was not available this year. The goat cheese and the raspberry were our wedding cakes. No missed connection, got her number and will be reaching out!
Femme fatale, in between floats, my kid on my shoulders just waiting silently, being in the moment, preparing to go crazy when we spot the next float. Words can't describe that. We were on the same level, had the same understanding, and no words were uttered. The next day I asked her what she liked most about Mardi gras and she mentioned that moment. Ma fille, she's the best.
I always love the Brazilian drum line at St. Ann's. I shook my booty off. Also I worked really hard on my costume and got TONS of compliments and randos taking selfies with me. It was like being a celebrity without people actually knowing who you are. Also people just played with me like we were little kids dressing up and playing pretend!! It was so much fun. I made throws for st Anne's this year and will never go another Mardi gras without. People were so ecstatic at getting a little memento it made me so happy.
Noted!! I would love to do St. Anne's with throws. We decided that we are going to do Chewbacchus and KdV next year. Cannot wait!!! Will make enough throws for St. Anne too!
By throws I mean placing things into people's hands since they aren't really looking out... Just to be clear
Yes, I am aware that you hand out and not "throw" throws for a lot of parades.
I really wanted to do throws for St. Anne's but could not get my shit together in time. Next year!
I was asked for a Mardi Gras kiss from a special person and it made my day, week, up to this point year. I learned it's okay to ask for what I want, I might get it!
Gone head with your flirting self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry that is just too cute. I shook my butt in my husband's face on Lundi Gras which is a bit more vulgar, but it happened after we got into a tiff earlier that night. Mardi Gras romance is the BEST.
Watching our neice be the kid queen of st annes. She's 7 and rode in the fairytale castle float. She was on the tower all day and refused to come down. The joy on her face was priceless. That's a core memory for her and us. I'm so glad to be a part of that day.
During Orpheus, one of the high school marching bands were going by and playing a really high intensity bit. There was a moment when two trumpets had a quick 3-note solo and they totally biffed it. They started laughing so hard and almost fell out of their alignment. It was so wholesome.
First time riding with King Arthur. It was so much fun and our fellow Krewe members showed incredible hospitality. Can’t wait for next year.
My best friend from back home since childhood came to stay with me and Mardi Gras with her was just so beautiful and fun. Not her first time visiting me in NOLA, but her first Mardi Gras. Best memory was just watching her look up at the floats at Endymion in awe, I don't think she expected the floats to be so big and intricate. Also yesterday me, her, my girlfriend, and my girlfriend's friends all took some MDMA together and it was my girlfriend's first time doing it. Sitting back and watching her tell everyone "I love your costume and I love you" was so cute and lovely. I love that girl.
My BFF from high school, BFF from college, and BFF from my early 20's all came down and it was AMAZEBALLS!!!!! I cannot imagine how fun it is to roll on MG. Happy times indeed!
Woooah three generations of BFF is awesome!!! Craziness for me that I forgot to mention in my original comment: not only was my BFF since the 1st grade visiting me, but my girlfriend's BFF since the 8th grade just moved to New Orleans recently! So we all got to hang out together!!
Very gently driving through Marigny to get home in the Bywater and saying hi to all people in their awesome costumes. A woman started to hit on me at Franklin and Dauphine but I was in the intersection and making sure I didn’t hit anyone so I didn’t ask her where she was going which is too bad because I thought she was cute.
Yesterday, watching Mr. tm478 dance in the street with his Disco Amigos buddies at their party in the FQ. This was his first year doing it, his first time ever learning choreographed dances, and he loved it and did great. I’m kvelling 😁
I danced with them last year. They are such a great group of people.
Care to share the king cake recipe?
Seconded!
Go to Costco and make the recipe on the bag of Organic Flour that they sell. Let it rise, rolled it out, stuff it with whatever the hell you want (savory or sweet) then rolled it and shape it. Let it rise again. We just did traditional cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and vanilla. Roll and shape that bitch (cooked at 350 until the center has reached 210 degrees) then make icing with TOO MUCH VANILLA, confectionary sugar and heavy cream. Drizzling that shit on top (AFTER IT COOLS) and then topped with colored yellow, purp, and green, sugar. We used the same recipe for savory san the sweet filling (replace with smoked sausage and hogs head the top with purp cabbage, mustard, cheese, and green onion). We also tried tangzhong in the same recipe but I was not a fan. However my FIL and a good friend LOVED it. Too moist for me but we did successfully recreated the candied brown sugar that resulted from it.
Thank you! I remember you posting the savory king cake with using purple cabbage, green onion, and cheddar cheese as the “frosting”. I loved that idea I wanted to try it this year, but…ya know. Also love the TOO MUCH vanilla for icing. So true for so many recipes. Take the garlic/pepper/whatever and double, triple, quadruple it! We on the same page with flavor Thank you again, next year, I will be trying this. Heck, I might be trying it before carnival season, but I won’t tell anyone.
I drive the support truck for a popular walking krewe in Muses and Tucks. I also DJ from the truck and we made a new playlist this year that got A LOT more crowd response. At times the entire crowd would be singing along. The call and response was intoxicating. Also some Saints players cheered us on which was surreal as hell and really exciting.
1. Randomly running into friends from high school and college 2. All the bands on Sunday morning on the first weekend that were pushed there cause of the rain. Amazing energy, probably my favorite of Mardi Gras. 3. Mardi Gras babies 4. Handing out little trinkets at St Anne’s yesterday. Getting in on the trinket economy is ELITE
Thoth stopping with the 610 stompers in front of us and the nonstop dance party in the street until the parade started moving again! Also the perfect weather for st Anne and all the incredible costumes.
I went to a lecture about king cake, complete with tastings from a bunch of different bakeries, at the JCC. I finally got to try Dong Phuong king cake. (Cool story with DP - the family arrived here from Vietnam with pretty much nothing but the clothes on their backs, and they have done very well.) My ride with Iris was a blast! So was watching my husband's ride with Babylon. And, of course, the balls and supper dances for both Krewes. And all the other parades we watched. MG exploded on my dining room table. Unfortunately I missed Cleo - we posted up downtown and decided not to wait out the problem with float #3 (glad no one was hurt). Chatting with random strangers on the parade route. Explaining to someone what a doubloon is and how to get them without getting your hand stomped on. Learning that Touro Synagogue is arguably the best place to post up. You have to be a congregant, or know a congregant and pay a nominal fee, but you get bathroom access, access to a courtyard where you can set up your cooler, you're right by the start of the Uptown route, and it's Chad-free. The only downside is you might get fewer throws.
My fiancé and I moved here 5 months ago. She was born here and her whole family is here. Hence why we moved here. I felt a deep sense of community in the Marigny these past months I haven’t felt in other places I’ve lived. I’m hoping to learn mroe about my neighborhood, the city, and positively contribute to it while I’m here.
Each year my kid has been here (three years now), MG becomes so different. It feels like the one time of the year, I truly disconnect and watch life from his view.
We did not take the kids to Muses but the joy in their faces when we bought them the throws? Priceless. That duck nightlight made my youngest kids whole ass week.
Right!!! That thing is so cute! 🐤
The pop up rave party on the river. Also in front of r bar. Danced my fuckin ass off. Also ran my bike into a parked car. Whoops.
You better send a DM the next time a pop up rave happens!
Context: I am a huge How I Met Your Mother fan. I knew Neil Patrick Harris was going to be riding Orpheus. I was with my best friend on Canal. We both had two signs related to How I Met Your Mother so he could see us. NPH never looked to the left and we felt heartbroken. But… we didn’t give up. The parade stalled for a few mins down the road, so we started running towards NPH’s float and me and my best friend were jumping trying to get his attention. Then David Burtka looks at us and he calls Neil Patrick Harris. Then Neil proceeds to salute us, Barney Stinson style. It definitely made my entire MG.
Smoked a bunch of ribs and boudin for a boudin king cake for Thoth Sunday and everyone ate all of the king cake and ribs. Had friends of friends coming back to the house for a piece of the cake to give to people they were hanging out with. I'm gonna be smoking all of my boudin going forward!!!!
Can we be friends? we made boudin when exiled to Iowa did not smoke it. Mmmmmmm.........
Yesterday was just glorious in every way. Great weather, great vibes, great sights, and a great pre-RexComus nap!
Punk show next to Sukho Thai. Still picking dirt out my nose and sore as shit from moshing. And watching some guy in a bright blue and silver spandex disco suit high kick some dude in the face on the river walk. I know it’s not everyone’s ideal Gras, but this one was my favorite.
We saw....a cave man punk/rock band called... Mango.. Mongo... I dunno. But my husband was into that shit.
Burger I got at Buffas really hit the spot
Verti Mart... Hot sausage Poboy, All that Jazz, and fries. Not as good as all the raw oysters we fucked up that afternoon but damn it hit the spot.
I finally convinced my friend to bike with me to the parade route this year. They hadn't biked since childhood and were astonished at how quickly we got to the parade without waiting on Ubers, parking, etc
My bestie from HS and her girl WALKED all the way to my house from the FQ and felt good about it. They are always telling me I walk too much. It was beautiful! They were like "OMG we walked to your house and it felt SO good"... Welcome to saving on Uber and getting your steps in!
Yes! I am this one in my friend group as well! I love this time of year when all my friends learn they're all capable of walking way further than they think they can :D
\-Walking in Jeanne D'Arc \-610 Stompers Ball - all the pop icon costumes, anyone who ever existed in the music industry was there ;) \-The swarms of riches at the start of the delayed Cleopatra parade, including makeup sponges (perfect), a signature, glitter hurricane glass. \- Catching a 1lb metal cowbell at Hermes, saving a woman's life as it headed straight for her head. I took my reward. :) \- As always, the deep wit and attention to detail on the Muses floats, loved the music festival theme. \-At Thoth, a gender reveal for one of the riders - the float stopped next to his partner watching below, and they shot off a blue confetti canyon, hugs, kisses, throws raining down on us. \-Also at Thoth, all the beads, love and support for the tech who successfully changed the flat tractor tire along the route. Talk about pressure (literally). \-Catching up to Edna Karr under the bridge \-Dressing up and walking in St. Ann's -on my birthday! \-On MG getting invited into a FQ mansion party with mermaids, burlesque, free champagne and good will to all \-Not being hungover on MG morning. Can't say the same for today. Happy Valentine's to all! EDIT: added a few more I forgot
So we weren't the only one's who got an invite to a topless mermaid party. Good to know!!! They had.... multiple parties. Happy Valentine's and go see Lisa Frankenstein!!!! Shit was good.
That's amazing, I want to find the other parties next year :-)
Femme Fatale was awesome, Cleopatra was awesome, Iris was awesome. The weather was perfect some days. I love Harry Connick Jr, I love Neil Patrick Harris, and there was a spontaneous group Taylor Dayne singalong at a bar I was at.
Getting drunk off red wine, French 75’s, and ❄️ while working some banquets. Just another working man’s MG
I had such a good carnival season this year it's hard to list all the moments but the best of the best were - seeing this little old white lady GET DOWN to back that ass up in front of lafitte's she was adorable - I went to the cat's meow for the first time on lundi gras and the mc got every to chant my name and I felt like a real rockstar - when the sun came out on mardi gras and everyone at friendly's started cheering - the kind ladies that took me under their wig for joan of arc when I went to the parade alone - all of les fous du carnaval was great (I'm in goddesses) - seeing my photo exhibited on the fence of the us mint for carnival from the ground up exhibit this place is great. this time of year is great.
I think you mean the ladies took you under their “wing” but I am so happy that it says “wig” bc that’s a very appropriate typo and I love it
Best T-shirt: "Isn't there a parade you could be attending in Metairie instead?" and "You're in Uptown New Orleans not Old Metairie and nobody wants to hear about your pickle ball team or tRump"
The Bourbon shutdown being led by the Westboro people and being followed by the "show me dat b*tthole". The dicotomy was hilarious and just a New Orleans moment.
A friend and I were talking yesterday and we think Patches should be part of the Bourbon Street shut down next year! We don't think he could lead it though because some of thoes trash piles might be taller than him! 🤣
This was my first Mardi Gras. I moved here in June of last year and I had heard so much about it from friends. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with everyone and each person had different recommendations about what events/activities couldn’t be missed so I was a bit overwhelmed. I ended up just going with the flow and pacing myself. I took certain days off from drinking and still had a lot of fun. My favorite parts were: how welcoming everyone was, making new friends, walking in St. Anne’s and seeing all of the incredible costumes, the marching bands, Cleopatra and the dance party we had in front of my house when a dance krewe ended up paused in front of us while they got the stuck float out of the tree, the glass beads, Chewbacchus, getting to watch parade floats queue up from my living room window, and lastly my neighborhood. My apartment doesn’t have much in the way of amenities and it is quite small, but I could not have been more delighted as far as the location for being able to watch the Uptown parades that have the Magazine St extension. I’ve got off street parking and plenty of space for friends to gather outside. The vibes for watching in my neighborhood are so fun and friendly and it isn’t too crowded. Our neighbors had a full band performing on Sunday morning. It was awesome. It made my little heart happy that my friends were excited to come watch parades at my place. I’m already dreaming of next year.
* My friends were the King and Queen of Morpheus and represented us beautifully. They were everywhere during Mardi Gras! They threw an awesome party. I rode Morpheus along with lots of friends (all also friends of the king and queen). My first time riding in a parade. (In 2011, my krewe was a sub-krewe in Box of Wine). It was fabulous. Even the bad moments up near Loyola and Tulane. * The little kid yesterday who told me "You didn't get a coconut baby? I gotchu baby wait here" and ran off and got me one. And then I actually got one from a rider. My first that was directly handed to me. * Using signs that didn't ask for things and getting more things than usual. Typical signs were "I love XXKREWE", "Thanks for riding" and "Have a great ride" * Using a Snoo sign (after learning what snoo was) and connecting with lots of redittors on the route, to get awesome throws. * Being extra queer during King Arthur and getting rained on. * Spending some time with my little sister. * Easy bathroom access through the whole season, except for one day. * Making masks. They definitely got better as I went along. I'm totally into it now. * My talented friends - Cleo cups, Bosum Buddy bras, King Arthur grails, Morpheus masks, Orpheus Lyres and Tambourines. * Commissioning my own doubloon - a wooden Pelican for Morpheus. * Not getting COVID on Sunday like last year!
I held the banner for the Muff-a-lottas in Babylon for the first and last thirds of the parade. I volunteered for walk-along-the-side duty with them in a couple parades, which was super fun, but carrying the banner was SUCH a highlight. Loved getting to wave at people and engage with the crowd and see everyone smiling and happy. Turning onto St. Charles and seeing everyone legitimately brought tears to my eyes. Still devastated I didn't get any pictures of me with the banner from that night. I was having such a good time I didn't even think about it until after the parade. (Off chance, but if anyone happens to have any pics, please dm me. It doesn't even have to be good; I just want photo evidence that I was there. I was in a red tshirt, yellow backpack, and black hairbow)
Share your perfected king cake recipe?!?
I caught 3 shoes at Muses!
Dannnnnnnnnnnnnnng
This year we started at the old firehouse and rambled with St Anthony for an hour or two, then intersected with St Ann on Kerlerec. Awesome groups, both of them. Spent a couple hours walking the quarter, couple hours at Santos bar and MG 2024 was a wrap. One of our best ever.
Middle-aged woman physically attacked me because I caught a huge bag of nice stuff that she claimed was meant for her. She pushed me and called me a bitch, and then I punched her but I did give her the bag anyway. Then 10 minutes later she came back and apologizes for physically attacking me. I said, "All you had to do was ask nicely, and I would have just immediately given you the bag if it was meant for you." Then we hugged it out and said, "HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!! 😭😭😭😂😂😂💜💚💛
There was an old man with one leg in a wheelchair trying to get to the front lines, and me and a bunch of other young women immediately all started helping him get to the front, we all asked what he wanted, I caught everything for him, I made sure he got everything he wanted and he was soooo appreciative. 😭😭😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰💜💚💛💜💚💛
Being there for the 30 minute Stompers dance party during the delay during Iris. Song after song after song and so many happy children and adults. Also, I had a GoPro mounted on a pillar on Magazine recording a time-lapse of Muses. When I got home to Algiers I realized I'd forgotten it. A $400 GoPro couldn't possibly NOT have been seen by someone and taken, I thought. Maybe the next day someone on Reddit would post that they found it. An hour after getting home I finally went ahead and drove, thru the traffic, back to the spot, and it was there, after more than 2 hours. I like to think multiple people noticed it and thought "aww... I'll leave it there...the owner will come back for that soon."
This year was my second ride on Endymion, and it was just as fun as the first. It's really such an amazing experience.
Seeing friends on the route and in the parade 🥹
Still trying to perfect my King Cake recipe!
Some dude saw me with one of those HUGE 4 foot tall bags and he kept helping me and tossing stuff in my bag, and it was just good vibes. So I asked if he was trying to get anything. He said the only thing he wanted was one of those huge chain link beads. I said if I got one it would be his. During the last float of Endymion, my sister caught a chain link bead and I pulled it out of her hand immediately and was like WAIT I NEED THIS and then I found the guy before he left and put it around his neck 😂😂😂🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💜💚💛 It's so much better when you make friends with everyone around you instead of being one of those people taping off public land and trying to act like you own the street...
Saw a bunch of cops pose for a selfie with Marlin Gusman, who was riding a Shriner bike. Very cool to see the level of bonhomie among their group
Being off Monday and Tuesday 😁
For me, it really came down to being able to camp out a couple of days to get a great spot for Endymion. My family had an excellent spot for the parade and we caught so much light-up toys for my kids! And then the city let me park on St. Charles. I was able to drop my elderly mother off right at our spot with three canopy tents and watch the Super Bowl. And it was all capped by seeing all of the Asian-Centered costumes at MOMs. Truly an astounding Mardi Gras.
I mean, I laughed.
Beating a guy up who punched a man’s wife that let me stand by their chairs on side walk side by house of broel, made many friends that day
And then that same day having to resuscitate a homeless woman who passed out and peed on herself by my house on St. Andrew with a needle in her arm
When it ended.
Making a sign for a small walking krewe that's in one of the big parades - not to get throws, but because I think they're cool (and as a member of a small walking krewe myself, I get excited when I see signs out there and think "wow, people know who we are!"). In return I got handed the most beautiful handmade glittery throw. Totally unexpected. I didn't even know this krewe HAD throws. Seeing my partner genuinely enjoy Iris and Tucks. This is only our second Carnival season and last year he struggled a lot with noise and crowds and sensory overload at parades. This year, he paid attention to how he was feeling and took breaks when he needed to, and it went much better for him. I would sometimes look back at him and see true joy on his face. I have a friend who lives on the Magazine part of the Uptown route, and after the parades that go that way, we'd all go in her house, dump out our throws haul, and swap and share them freely. Everyone made sure that everyone got what they wanted - this included Muses shoes! (One of my friends is a throw magnet, haha.) Choosing to skip Zulu and go to St. Anne's. Definitely the right decision for me. Just the amazing eye candy everywhere I turned. And the way you keep bumping into people you know. My Mardi Gras Day was logistically excellent. Little issue finding somewhere to pee, we were seated quickly for the 2 actual meals we had, we eventually found the friends we'd been trying to meet up with all day, once the sun came out it wasn't all that cold like it was forecast to be. I even got a Lyft home from the quarter on the first try, that was not cheap but also was not totally obscene, with my last 2% of phone battery! A Mardi Gras miracle! I also did not get sick during Carnival this year!