When does the Mardi Gras season begin?

The middle of the 2200 block of Esplanade Avenue

The Mardi Gras season begins in New Orleans on January 6.  On that day, the Phorty Phunny Phellows ride the streetcar down St. Charles Avenue and the Krewe of Jeanne d'Arc parades through the French Quarter.

Frau Schmitt and I are members of the Krewe of Jeanne d'Arc.  If you were walking down Esplanade Avenue the other evening and saw two people in monk's robes riding scooters to the Quarter, that was us.  Hello.  You never know who you'll bump into in New Orleans.


Frau Schmitt and your humble narrator are in our forties, so we have a soft spot in our hearts for music from the 1980s.  Think Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD).  You can skip the first minute of the video above.  You can skip all of it, really, or keep reading while the soundtrack plays...

What was nice about marching in the Twelfth Night parade were all the people lining the streets to wish the krewe a happy Twelfth Night.  It was Joan of Arc's birthday, and her feast day.  At one point, everyone wished this tradition to carry on for centuries.  

For centuries.  That is how New Orleanians make traditions.  They think about the present, but they make what they do in the present worthwhile for the future while remembering the past.  Good memories are made  in New Orleans, now and forever.

2216 Esplanade Avenue

It is Carnival season in New Orleans.  If you want to come on Mardi Gras Day, you are welcome to do it, but I have a secret to tell you.  The best time to come is the weeks before Mardi Gras Day.  That is when New Orleanians celebrate for themselves.  There are parades every weekend.  Some are more extravagant than others.  Some have block-long floats while others are just a gaggle of people who just want to dress up and celebrate while they walk the streets.  The walking parades are the best.

There is a parade down Esplanade Avenue.  It is made up of elementary school children in little floats pulled by pickup trucks and junior high marching bands.  That's our favorite, even more than 'Tit Rex and Krewe de Vieux.

The welcome mat is out

New Orleans is a place where magic happens every day.  We love living here.  It is an enchanted place.  When you visit New Orleans you won't leave disappointed.  The whole city makes sure of that.  We do our part.  Wherever you stay, we hope you enjoy yourselves.  If you do come to New Orleans during Mardi Gras season, we know a nice boutique inn where you can stay and get the royal treatment.

Follow your NOLA:

  

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.