New Orleans Social Clubs or Gentlemen's Clubs play a very large part in the Mardi Gras celebration. The oldest is The Boston Club (third oldest in the United States), founded in 1841 as a place for its members to congregate and partake in the fashionable card game of Boston , Rex Royalty is chosen from among its ranks. Click on the Mardi Gras krewes below for further information about the krewe and to see their usual route for each parade. Please note: Events and activities are subject to change without notice. Stay tuned to the site for further info. Mardi Gras 2025 is Tuesday, March 4. We're counting down the minutes. As Mayor of the great City of New Orleans, I invite you to visit our city to experience the excitement of Mardi Gras!" The History & Traditions of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras has been celebrated in Louisiana since the 18th century, brought by French settlers. Today’s traditions stem from European carnival customs mixed with local culture, creating a uniquely New Orleans spectacle. Mardi Gras in New Orleans: what to eat, drink and do Check the calendar for Carnival season art markets—where you can find costumes and accessories for Mardi Gras—held in the great hall. Records show that around the 1730s, some wealthy families held balls for Mardi Gras. According to Garrison-Harrison, the celebrations were being documented in newspapers by the 1780s. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a one to a three-month stretch of the year in which the streets come alive with music, art, and costumed revelers. Beginning on Twelfth Night, January 6, the best season of the year is upon us: king cake, bead-tossing, and parading begins and only increases as we make our way toward Mardi Gras Day. The New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Council always has their Indian Sunday on the third Sunday of March, around St. Joseph's Day. Their festivities begin at Noon in A. L. Davis Park (at Washington & LaSalle Streets) where the Mardi Gras Indians once again dress in their feathers and suits, and take to the streets to meet other "gangs." Mardi Gras royalty has been celebrated at Mardi Gras balls for decades. every year in New Orleans, beginning with the Twelfth Night Ball, held on Jan. 6, by the Because Mardi Gras’s timeline is based on the Catholic calendar, the actual date is a moving target that falls in February or March; check out future dates here. Pop culture prep work. Best Mardi Gras TV Show Treme, Season 1, Episode 8: All On a Mardi Gras Day "Treme" was David Simon’s love letter to New Orleans, its people, and its culture. Mardi Gras is a celebration held in and around New Orleans that concludes before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.. While some parades during the month-long celebration have already been impacted by wet weather, attention is now focused on Fat Tuesday’s events, which kick off around 8 a.m. local time. The first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans, Louisiana. They held a Founded in 1933, the Krewe of Mid-City is the 5th-oldest continuously parading organization of the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. Often called "The best day parade in Mardi Gras," Mid-City has gained a reputation for having themes dedicated to children and for having some of the best bands in Mardi read more » When to Visit for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In 2025, the event will be held in Caesars Superdome with headliners Katy Perry and Train. Ticket prices range from Some point to 1699 as year the first American Mardi Gras was held, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed about 60 miles south of present-day New Orleans Mardi Gras balls were exclusive events closed off from most people outside of New Orleans society until this krewe revolutionized the event. In 1949, Edward Brennan Sr. created the krewe, a carnival Ball open to tourists. The Argument for New Orleans. Those who believe New Orleans gets the crown say the first Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Bienville and Iberville put down stakes on the west bank of the Mississippi River, about 60 miles downriver from the site of what would become the Crescent City. In February 2021, the usual bustle of New Orleans’ Canal Street stopped when onlookers noticed that the stone pedestal, which had once held a bronze statue dedicated to Confederate President 4: When was the first Mardi Gras? 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. Mardi Gras Dates. 5: What is the significance of the Mardi Gras colors, and where did they come from? In February 2006, New Orleans held its Mardi Gras celebrations despite the fact that Hurricane Katrina had devastated much of the city with massive flooding the previous August. Attendance was at
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |