Mardi Gras Indians at Jazz Fest
As recently as the early 1980s, only a handful of tribes appeared at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In 2022, more than 40 performed on stage and paraded through the Fair Grounds, giving attendees from around the world a taste of one of the city’s most enduring and enigmatic cultural traditions.
Carnival culture at Jazz Fest 2024
Jazz Fest has consistently showcased aspects of Carnival, notably performances and parades by New Orleans’s iconic Mardi Gras Indian tribes. But there’s much else of interest for those curious about the city’s annual outburst of creative expression.Big Chief Fi Yi Yi...
Baby Dolls
The Baby Dolls of New Orleans are renowned not only for their dancing and attire but their commitment to preserving an iconic tradition that has been uplifting and empowering women for more than a century.
Party Hounds on Parade
Tapping a Hollywood costume designer to create Medieval regalia for canines participating in the Mystic Krewe of Barkus parade with the theme “Joan of Bark.”
Royal DisemBARKation
If Rex and Zulu can arrive at the riverfront with ceremonial fanfare, as a prelude to their moment in the sun, why not the canine Queen of Barkus?
Mardi Gras Dictionary and Terminology
Who is The Lord of Misrule? What does the word “krewe” have to do with the poetry of John Milton? Why are go-cups popular throws? And what does a spyboy mean when he hollers “Humbah!” If these questions seem puzzling, it’s time to bone-up on some Mardispeak.
Children of the Realm
Despite its reputation for bawdy excess, Mardi Gras is still in many ways a family event with much to offer to stir young imaginations.
Parties and Balls
While “society” Carnival balls are private affairs for krewe members and their invited, formally attired guests, some krewe fêtes — including post-parade “extravaganzas” staged by Endymion, Orpheus and Tucks — are accessible to non-members. Costuming or fancy dress, drinking and dancing, live music, frivolity and pretend royalty are all key ingredients in the common quest to let pleasure rule.
Parade Ladders
Step ladders with seats attached are a favorite way to provide kids with a prime parade perch and help them snag lots of throws.
Flashing for Beads
As flashing for beads has evolved into a Mardi Gras pastime, “Show your tits!” has become as much a part of the lexicon as “Throw me something, mister!” But those inclined to revel in the risqué should be mindful of the fact that what was once a spontaneous and casual...
Throw Me Something Mister!
In the heat of the moment, the perceived value of the exotic bounty tossed from parade floats cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Because it cannot be bought, only bestowed and won, it is, in a sense, priceless.The quest for beaucoup booty at Mardi Gras A...
North Side Skull and Bone Gang
These maskers, dressed as skeletons and wielding scary-looking spears and large bones, wake up the Tremé neighborhood on Mardi Gras morning with a warning: Get your act together before it’s “too late.” They evoke the literal meaning of Carnival — farewell to the flesh...
Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club
With a style all its own, the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club early on dispensed with scripted decorum in favor of freewheeling irreverence expressed through a parody of stereotypes of Blacks in minstrelsy traditions, wacky takes on an African jungle theme, and...
Black Masking Indians
Once shrouded in secrecy, with little interest in sharing their traditions with the outside world, Black Masking Indians, also known as Mardi Gras Indians, have become celebrated icons whose music draws Grammy nominations and whose history and folkways command serious...
Mardi Gras Music History
The nexus between Carnival and music reflects the festive, let-the-good-times-roll culture of the Crescent City, where parading and dancing have long been obsessions. The seasonal spirit and its accompanying soundtrack conspire to prompt revelers to shed inhibitions...
King Cake History
What it’s all About
Everybody knows that Mardi Gras is a time to frolic and have fun, to cut loose — to throw down, as they say in the Big Easy. But what about the trappings and traditions — the masks, beads, king cake and mock royalty; the ubiquitous purple, green and gold? Aren’t these...
Local Color
New Orleanians are known for their almost religious devotion to traditions, and the rituals and customs surrounding Mardi Gras are no exception.