Mardi Gras Jail

It’s Mardi Gras! Typically this is my favorite time of year in New Orleans. The revelry, the fun in dressing up and throwing glitter on anything that sticks, the crazy amount of walking, yelling at floats as the pass by while dancing with the marching bands as they do. There is really nothing like it.

But this year, in 2021, we are unable to celebrate thanks to Covid. And really, it’s not just Covid. It’s thanks to the people who haven’t taken this virus seriously and continue to defy orders that are in place to keep everyone safe.

So that leads us to this weekend, when all of New Orleans is in what I like to call “Mardi Gras Jail”. Bars are completely closed, including our favorite breweries. Streets won’t be open for us just to walk through and parks around the city have shut down to help alleviate any option of big gatherings.

For nearly a year, we’ve been dealing with closures, capacity reductions and changing our lifestyles to try and stop the spread of this super dangerous virus. And for the most part, this city has been fairly good at it. But this past week, the mayor decided to crack down on businesses allowing the crowds, serving alcohol later than allowed and more. Even though they’ve been doing it for months, apparently this weekend she decided to punish those few and all of the other bar businesses who have taken every step to do things right, keep people safe and keep their business open.

But now we are in the most amazing time of the year for the city, and not only are we dealing with a pandemic, but a major cold streak as well. It may be for the best, especially on Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras with the frigid cold and the icy streets.

I do give a ton of credit for those who have gone above and beyond decorating their homes. It has given me a few smiles and the creativity is just amazing.

But it still feels like Mardi Gras Jail. And I look forward to the 2022 festivities where we can go all out!

I leave you with some photos of house floats.