Carnival in The Big Easy

All of my complaining may make me sound like a party pooper, and that's because sometimes I am. But really, Mardi Gras can be a lot of fun, especially if you have good friends to go out to the parades with to have a good time. Enjoy these pictures from all of the Saturday parades. Click on the image to view a larger version.







Everyone, young and old come out to enjoy Carnival. These folks had a pretty nice set-up, and they were definitely in the spirit.







Just to give you an idea of how many people come out for the parades, check out this picture. On the left side of the picture, you can see the float coming down St. Charles Avenue, and on the right side you will notice that people are completely blocking the street ahead of the float. This happens all day, and the parade gets held up while people are cleared out of the way.







Some of the most interesting people to watch at Mardi Gras are the college students (a group I belonged to until recently.)







Despite the required use of an oxygen tank to breathe, this guy came out to witness the madness first hand.







The Krewes spend an exuberant amount of money on floats, throws, and costumes.







No explanation necessary. It is certainly "the Gras."







High school bands from all over the state are hired to play in the Krewes parades. They make good money for their schools, and most of them are really good, especially the bands at the bigger parades.







It's pretty funny because you can look up in the trees and power lines all year long, and there are always beads hanging there. Sometimes they fall down, but most of them will be there until next Mardi Gras. It looks a little bit like decorated Christmas trees all year long.







The Krewes usually pick a theme and try to keep all of the floats decorated according to that theme. At least one Krewe per year does a movie theme. As you can see, this one picked Star Wars. I've been to one of the warehouses where these giant float decorations are made and stored for the rest of the year. They take a lot of work, and they're really expensive. But if you're looking to go into business for yourself, getting in on the Mardi Gras decoration supply biz is pretty profitable.







These guys were just retarded. Retarded but fun.