What's your opinion on Mardi Gras?

[bettyeanne]

Originally Posted by Claire

I have typed and typed and then deleted because I just can't put into words what Mardi Gras is. I know what I have experienced and scene in the 27 years that I have lived here, but I just can't put it into words.
Mardi Gras really is a family affair. It is not the drunken nude craziness that you see on TV. In 27 years I have only experienced that aspect of it once because we wanted to. I was turning 21 and my bestfriend was getting married and we went down to Bourbon Street, just us gals. Bourbon Street is really the only place that you are going to see that kind of stuff. On a normal day you see that stuff on Bourbon street. What do you expect from a street lined with bars and strip clubs???
What Mardi Gras is all about to me is the food, family and the parades! The parades are the best! Family and friends get together on the parade route and barbeque or eat Popeye's Chicken and king cake and have fun and wait for the parades to roll. As a kid we use to get so excited when the parades would start. We would sit on my dad's shoulders, on a ladder or on a chair and yell with all of our might "Throw me something mister". We would always go home with at least 3 trashbags of beads, cups and trinkets and we would use them to have our own parades. We would decorate our bikes and ride them up and down the street throwing beads at invisible people.
I LOVE Mardi Gras and I think that having it this year gave us all a much needed break. It gave us an excuse to be happy and let our hair down. It has been 6 months since Katrina hit, the people of N.O. needed a break! If anything it brings back the media to the town so that they can see that we still do need their help!

Claire!! What wonderful childhood memories!! I believe that the majority of those who are "natives", share those type memories! I think that this year, most people did participate in Mardi Gras as a much needed break. There are so many who are not helping with the cleanup and I hope they take this opportunity to examine themselves and will pitch in and try to restore what they can before it's too late and all the history is lost!

[Sherry Lynn]

Originally Posted by Thorsmomma

I don't think that it is implying the message that everything is okay at all. I think it is more of a celebration that New Orleans is moving on, that they are holding their ground and rebuilding. I think it says' 'we are strong and we are not going to let THIS tradition be stopped' I totally agree with it. It will help bring money into NO and I think it will be a catalyst for another 'wave', if you will, of people to move back.

Well said, and also Claire and Megan's posts, too. You are TOO smart for your age, Megan! And Claire, I love NO, but only know it as a tourist. Its so nice to hear your childhood stories. I'm sure you want to continue those traditions with your family.

I think there must be a real need to make things seem as normal as possible after such a tragedy. Mardi Gras is such an important tradition to NO that I think it would be so much worse to just ignore it.

On one of the news shows, I heard them say that it was going to cost the city a little under 3M to bring in revenues of over 300M. And NO was even starting to receive donations to cover their costs.

[Claire]

Today on the local news one of the guys from the Krewe of Rex really summed it up as to why we really needed to keep Mardi Gras this year.
He said that he was totally oposed to Mardi Gras this year, did not see a reason why we should have it with the city in shambles... untill he got on the float and saw the smiles on the kids faces. The children changed his mind. He then said that it is our job as adults to give these kids a sense of normalsy (SP) in a time of turmoil. Mardi Gras is normal to the children of N.O. and canceling it would have taken away the chance for the kids of N.O. to just feel normal again.