RNATE COSTUMES, DAZZLING floats, coloured beads, music and parading bands characterise Mardi Gras in Orleans. This centuries-old tradition dates back to the Middle Ages when the first parade is recorded to have taken place in 1833. The date of Mardi Gras changes every year but is always 47 days before Easter. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, technically lasts for one day, which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday but the entire Mardi Gras season typically spans several weeks. Mardi Gras involves 70 parades, often lasting 5 hours, organised by social clubs known as krewes. Several are known as “super krewes” such as the Krewe of Bacchus, Krewe of Orpheus as well as the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club go the extra mile, holding larger parades and events (often featuring celebrity guests), which tend to head to the streets over the last few days. Elsewhere, the backstreet cultural experience in the oldest Africa American neighbourhood in the US takes place in the early hours on Mardi Gras morning where Mardi Gras Indians march in costumes of the North Side Skull & Bones Gang and the Baby Dolls to wake up the neighbourhood. This is an authentic, sombre experience, a dark atmosphere. The Backstreet Cultural Museum, located here, explains the rites and practices interwoven with the French-Creole history. Founded as a military-style grid of seventy squares in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Bienville, the French Quarter was the original city, now designated as a National Historic Landmark. The streets in the French Quarter are too narrow for the floats, but the party continues all day and, for some, all night. The architecture lends itself to partying with decorated balconies such as the Cornet Restaurant, which has the biggest and brightest second-floor balcony on Bourbon Street, perfect for the legendary bead throwing, while jazz musicians played on the pavements, in the bars and clubs. The iconic wrought iron decorative balconies, derived from the Spanish, have shaped the architectural aesthetic of the French Quarter. And to preserve their splendour, there’s a tradition of “Greasing the Poles” which involves O
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EC Magazines | Seoul Edition 2025
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