There is a city ordinance in Orleans Parish that prohibits Mardi Gras from being commercialized, i.e., no advertising is allowed on floats or can be thrown from floats. In addition, some of the Mardi Gras organizations have events outside of their actual parade where sponsors can participate. These include Zulu’s Lundi Gras Festival, Endymion’s big bash before their parade, Metairie’s “Family Gras”, and the ticketed extravaganzas held after some of our parades (such as Bacchus, Endymion, Orpheus).

Not unless you are going to be a rider on a float. If you plan to watch the parades during Mardi Gras, you'll catch so much you won't be able to carry it all!

The best methods of transportation will be via taxi/ride-sharing services, streetcar or rental car depending on where you're staying. Driving your own car and finding parking spots will be difficult.

The date of Mardi Gras changes every year because it's connected to Easter, which can fall on any Sunday between March 23 and April 25. Mardi Gras day always takes place 47 days before Easter.

Most krewes book talent between August and November. If there's a particular krewe you would like to march with let us know and we'll connect you with the right person.

It's free! Not only that, but you'll leave with bags of Mardi Gras beads and throws. That's why we call it the "Greatest Free Show on Earth!"

The parades roll in light rain. The officials will only postpone if the weather is predicted to be severe. The local TV and radio news stations (such as WWL Radio) broadcast the hour-by-hour updates.

Contact us and we’ll be happy to put you in touch with the Council. While most Indians do not perform at events, a few do.

Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide is a print publication found in most drug stores that includes more than 50 individual parade profiles and maps.

After a few floats, you may have so many beads around your neck, you’ll need a place to put them! Be sure to bring a bag to store all the beads, trinkets, coconuts, and doubloons you’ll catch right off the float.

The first Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans on Feb. 24, 1857 by the Krewe of Comus. They began the tradition of presenting a parade with floats and following it with a ball for the krewe and their guests.

By law, float riders must always have a mask on. On Fat Tuesday, masking is legal for everyone else, and the elaborate masks that some wear add to the fun.

Twelfth Night (aka, Twelfth Night, the Feast of the Epiphany and Three Kings' Day) is celebrated on January 6th in New Orleans and is the official start of Mardi Gras every year. While the date of Fat Tuesday changes, Twelfth Night does not. According to Wikipedia, different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night as either January 5 or January 6 (it depends on whether they start counting the twelve days on December 25 or 26).

The method of selecting a king varies from krewe to krewe. Some krewes hold random drawings, while others invite a celebrity guest to be their king. Rex, the King of Carnival, is chosen by the School of Design, who sponsors the Rex parade. His identity is revealed the day before the parade.

Technically, "Carnival" refers to the period of feasting and fun that begins on January 6 (see question below) and ends on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the final day of revelry before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins. It is also common for people to refer to the entire season as Mardi Gras and, for clarity, to call Fat Tuesday "Mardi Gras Day." Locals tend to call the season "Carnival" and, to us, the last two weekends leading up to Tuesday are "Mardi Gras."