Shoes and Coconuts: A Beginners Guide to Mardi Gras

It's about a month too late, but still worth the post.

Mardi Gras: the two words that invoke sheer happiness and a feeling of giddy youthfulness among New Orleanians. Everybody loves Mardi Gras here. It's essentially Christmas for adults; only better because you get to fight people for prized beads (and other bling) you NEED at the time, but then feel infinitely stupid about wearing as soon as you walk away from the parade. I cannot emphasize enough how seriously people take Mardi Gras around here. I mean, it's FOR REAL.

Elaborate Costumes of Zulu

This city is on a whole other level in February. Although Mardi Gras is just a day the city celebrates for a month beforehand. There are parades happening all over the city starting the first day of February. You can even download an app that tells you which parades happen on which days. There is even a parade tracker that lets you know where the parade is in relation to where you are standing. Let me please emphasize how amazing this app is in a city that doesn't even do that with their own transit system. Yes, you can track a parade, but you cannot track the bus you would like to get on to go home. It's incredible.

You have to know which parades are worth your time and the ones you can live without. As far as I know, you must be at Krewe du Vieux, Muses, Orpheus, Bacchus, Endymion, Zulu, and all the ones I am forgetting. There are so many! You also have to know what sort of bling you are looking for at the parade. For example, at Muses you want a shoe. At Zulu, you want a coconut. The likelihood of you getting either of these things will be addressed later in the post.

One of the basic things you must understand is that Mardi Gras is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Maybe I would even equate it to one of those super marathons that only really dedicated people consider an option. Starting on the Thursday night before Mardi Gras, when Muses begins to role, you have to be on your game. You have to recall all those old basketball moves and be ready to box out, elbow, screen, block, etc. in order to get what you want. Then, you have to stay in this mentality for the next 5 days. The parades last forever and you are running around grabbing beads here, light-up rings there. You get tired...doesn't matter. You stay the course. You get home at 2 am, you get up at 7:30am to do it all over again. That is the spirit of Mardi Gras and when you are here in New Orleans, you are compelled to do it with the rest of the city.

Location is also key. I met a man this year who told me he and his wife have been standing on the same street corner to watch the parades for 45 years. That is the level of commitment and determination New Orleanians have about this holiday. And, let me say, it's a really good spot. That's where I chose to stand for the 5 days I watched the parades.

Some of the things you should avoid when picking a spot:

• Standing in front of children because you'll never get anything
• Standing with people who have elaborate costumes because, again, you won't get anything
• Standing close to a balcony because the throws REALLY love to see if they can make it up there instead of handing it to you.

Another thing you should be aware of is whether you are a street-side person or a streetcar-side person. This is just one of those things that you HAVE to have a firm belief in, choose, and stick with that decision. It just is. 

My Zulu coconut!

Finally, the likelihood of you getting really sought after Mardi Gras bling is slim, especially Muses shoes. You really have to know someone, be extremely lucky, or willing to run blocks and blocks with the parade. Zulu coconuts are easier to come by and just as fun to proudly display on your mantel (I say this only because I didn't get a shoe, but I got a coconut).

Mardi Gras is amazing and just one of those added perks you got when choosing a grad school in New Orleans. It's a holiday that truly embraces the spirit of this city and it's people. It's a holiday that is worth seeing at some point in your life. I am so happy I got to experience it this time as a resident.