New Orleans Revelers Pack Streets for fat tuesday Parade and Carnivalesque Finale
NEW ORLEANS — On Tuesday, Feb. 17 (ET), the city erupted in color and sound as Mardi Gras reached its peak. Revelers lined historic avenues from dawn, hollering the signature plea “Throw me something, Mister, ” while marching bands, enormous floats and elaborately costumed parade-goers delivered one last day of indulgence before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.
Street scenes: beads, coconuts and high-energy pageantry
By sunrise, people had staked out stretches of St. Charles Avenue and the French Quarter with folding chairs, coolers, grills and ladders for better views. The crowds wore the traditional green, gold and purple and a range of outfits from sequined finery to home-crafted creations. Floats rolled past with crews tossing signature “throws” — plastic beads, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and candy — and fans reached skyward to catch them.
One of the day’s most coveted prizes arrived wrapped in gold glitter: hand-decorated coconuts tossed by one of the city’s storied parades. A paradegoer dressed as a crawfish snagged a coconut and waved it triumphantly as sunlight glinted off the husk. Marching bands played, people danced in the streets, and many swapped their morning coffee for stronger libations as the party atmosphere built through the afternoon.
Costumes, traditions and local voices
Costuming ranged from elaborate feathered headdresses and beaded regalia of Black masking Indians to inventive homemade ensembles parading down the Quarter. One longtime reveler, Sue Mennino, cut a striking figure in an Egyptian-inspired white costume with a gold headpiece and electric blue eyeshadow. “The world will be here tomorrow, but today is a day off and a time to party, ” she said, speaking to why she returns for Carnival year after year.
For many locals, Fat Tuesday is a ritual closing of the Carnival season — a final communal exhale before the period of reflection that begins on Ash Wednesday. The day’s rituals and pageantry underscore deep community ties: exclusive balls and neighborhood traditions sit alongside boisterous public parades, keeping practices handed down across generations alive and visible.
Beyond the Big Easy: regional quirks and a moment caught on video
While New Orleans stages some of the most famous parades, the revelry spills across the Gulf Coast and beyond. Rural Central Louisiana hosts the Courir de Mardi Gras, a run where costumed participants perform, beg for ingredients and chase live chickens for a communal gumbo. Elsewhere, more unusual contests mark the day — including an international Pancake Day competition that pits small-town traditions from Kansas against those from England.
The holiday’s intensity also drew national attention when a video surfaced showing a well-known actor taken into custody during the festivities. The brief clip circulated widely, highlighting how even in the midst of jubilant celebration, public-safety incidents can punctuate the day.
As night fell, parades wound down and revelers began to disperse, many already plotting next year’s costumes or recounting shots of the day. For residents and visitors alike, Fat Tuesday remains an unmistakable, sensory conclusion to Carnival: noisy, messy, celebratory and rooted in a mix of sacred timing and long-standing local custom.
