The Carnival of New Orleans, 2020 edition: Here’s a mini-guide to learn how to participate in Mardi-Gras and everything you need to know about these festivities.
Every year, one of Louisiana’s most important events takes place: the Carnival of New Orleans, whose next edition will be held from January 6 to February 25, 2020. Do you have leave to take between January and February? Go for Louisiana to live a gourmet, cultural and authentic holiday, for a high-colored and flavoured holiday, all in the legendary jazz country.
For a little over five weeks, New Orleans – a town of 343,829 inhabitants – triple of volume, and goes up to one million people daily in the streets, a crowd of festival-goers who walk and dance day and night in front of houses set in the official colours of the event: green – representing the faith –, purple – symbolizing justice – and gold, referring to power. Many pantagrulic and musical festivities are on the program. Here's how to attend the famous Carnival and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Photo credit: Flickr – philippe leroyer
Tuesday-Gras, a little history
The name of Mardi-Gras in Louisiana is consubstantial to that of Carnival of New Orleans: the two appellations designate a single event. It is a religious feast introduced in Louisiana by the first French settlers at the end of the 17th century. Because of the French colonization, which lasted until 1803, Louisiana maintained a great deal of proximity to French culture. The first Mardi-Gras in Louisiana was organized in 1699 in honour of R. Cavelier de la Salle (1643-1687), a French explorer who baptized Louisiana. Today, 80 state cities celebrate the event.
On Tuesday-Gras Day – February 25, 2020 – everything is allowed: parades, balls and galettes of the kings mark the daily life of the city, we’re broke with gourmets and gastronomy. But all this gargantuesque culinary orgy must suddenly interrupt from the Ash Wednesday at midnight, with the forty days of Lent’s fast that follow.
What to see in Mardi-Gras in Louisiana?
The Mardi-Gras festival in Louisiana symbolizes in fact the end of the “week of the seven fat days”, hence the idea of marching collectively during the Carnival of New Orleans. In New Orleans, the parades are organized by troops named « Krewes » , teams whose most famous are named "Rex Krew" , « Krew de Comus » , « Krew d’Orpheus » , and « Krew de Zulu » .
At the foot of the tanks, you will observe the finesse with which traditional costumes, tanks and decors are made: the quintessence of aesthetics. But it is above all an opportunity to try to collect a maximum of objects launched by members of the Krewes : bead necklaces, teddy bears, mugs and dubloons , these fictitious coins hit to the effigy of the Carnival. These parades go on Saint Charles Avenue, Canal Street, and the streets of the French Quarter, where you can admire the French colonial architecture and authentic buildings in the neighborhood.
Photo credit: Pixabay
To attend the Carnival of New Orleans and Mardi-Gras in Louisiana, this is the opportunity to see many theme parades, many concerts – 60 fanfares! – and to enjoy some culinary specialties of the “cajuns” (a pejorative term to designate the Cadians, a French-speaking group of Louisiana) such as the oysters Bienville, the crayfish, the gumbo, the jambalaya, the shrimps with the remoulade, the okra, the tabasco or the pecan.
There is about one parade per day throughout the Carnival period. A parade is composed on average of thirty tanks, some have up to 200 and are larger than houses. Needless to say, their preparation is a titanium and thorough work throughout the year.
What to do during the Carnival of New Orleans?
From January 6 to February 25, 2020, several million people will flock to the streets of New Orleans. What to offer you a real crowd bath every night!
Don’t forget to buy a mask, because even spectators are masked. To acquire one, many merchants at the French Market sell beautiful beard masks of all colors.
Mardi-Gras also has another aspect than its greedy side: it’s for sure the opportunity to get rid of themselves, to forget the good Puritan morals of society. It is not a debauchery, but it is not uncommon to attend a striptease in exchange for a bead necklace launched by a member of a Krew ...
To discover the detailed program of the Carnival of New Orleans, appointment on this site .
How to get around in New Orleans Carnival?
Flight tickets to New Orleans in your pocket (see the best prices on our partner’s website Skyscanner ), the question of transport remains suspended.
To get from Louis Armstrong International Airport in the city centre, it’s simple:
- Taxi: a race costs about $33 for one or two people
- The airport shuttle: on reservation 48 hours in advance, the shuttle costs $20 the journey, $38 the go and return
- car rental
In the city you can do everything on foot: the city center is small enough. Otherwise, bus and tram serve the city. A bus or tram ticket costs $1.25. One pass one day costs $5 and one pass three days: $12.
Where to stay in New Orleans during the Carnival?
Undoubtedly, the Carnival of New Orleans entails a very strong affluence, synonymous with inflation... The rates of accommodation can increase and, above all, the offer of accommodation decreases. Book your hotel or apartment in advance.
Find a hotel in New Orleans during the Carnival
An interesting solution allows staying in New Orleans during the Carnival, is that of sleeping at home (via Airbnb , Wimdu, Bedycasa, HomeAway...), a real cultural and social immersion in the life of Cadians (Cajuns), who will be delighted to share their history.
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