What does Mardi Gras look like?

It takes a lot of work to make Mardi Gras happen

We were privileged to be able to take a tour of the Rex den this afternoon.  If you are not from New Orleans, this won't mean anything to you.  Allow me to explain...

The parades held during the Mardi Gras season are the work of local, volunteer associations called krewes.  Members of a krewe pay to build the floats, sew the costumes, and collect the items thrown from the floats when they parade.  Rex is the King of Mardi Gras.  The Krewe of Rex is his krewe.  Every krewe has a den located somewhere in the city where they store their gear and meet in the months that lead up to their big day.  

The Rex den is on South Claibourne Avenue.  You wouldn't know it from the outside, but once you step inside, you know.  I haven't adjusted the photos.  The colors really are that lurid.

Frog Float

The theme for Rex's parade this year is "All Creatures Great and Small."  Here is a preview of some of the floats:

Mosquito Float

Detail of Mosquito Float flower

Snake Float

Not all the floats depict naturally occurring creatures, of course.  These are for Mardi Gras, a mythical time of year.

The Unicorn Float

There is also a siren, a kraken, a cyclops, a polar bear, a panda, a lion, and a praying mantis off the top of my head.  You'll have to come see them on Mardi Gras Day.

Of course, Mardi Gras is not just a day, it is a season.  For the two weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday, there is at least one parade just about every night of the week.  Think about visiting New Orleans between weekends to participate in the spirit of the holiday.  A lot of krewes put in a lot of work to make their parade outstanding.  

It isn't just the Krewe of Rex that has palettes full of throws.

What Mardi Gras looks like in January

That picture is just a sample of all the boxes and bags of beads and knickknacks stored in the den.  It's like that all over town, in what look like abandoned warehouses on the outside.  They are really the headquarters where Mardi Gras magic is concocted.  

New Orleans is more crowded than usual this time of year.  Every parade, even the Mystic Krewe of Druids and the Mystic Krewe of Nyx, who parade on a Wednesday evening this year, will be crowded, but the crowd will be more local and more into the spirit of things.  You won't have to wait so much in line to get a good meal, and you'll have room to really catch some good souvenirs if you visit a parade route in the middle of the week.  

Good memories are made in New Orleans.  What does Mardi Gras look like?  It looks like nostalgia for simpler times when the world was without trouble.  New Orleans is like that every year.  They don't call it the City Care Forgot for nothing.

If you are looking to experience the more local side of Mardi Gras, we know where you can stay.  Don't plan on coming on Mardi Gras Day or during the Superbowl.  Come in the middle of a week to savor the best part of living here.

A votre sante.