First time Mardi Gras: top tips for New Orleans biggest party

When that first strand of beads hits you in the head, you know you've arrived at Mardi Gras. Garish floats, masked strangers, marching bands, throngs of revelers invading your space... For newcomers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the madness. But that first string of low-flying beads? Consider it your invitation to join the fun. Our advice? Accept the beads, embrace the chaos and laissez les bon temps rouler.

Saga of a celebration

Springtime hedonism has its roots in early pagan traditions and fertility rites, when uninhibited behavior was followed by a period of civilized forbearance. The Catholic Church institutionalized these rituals, establishing a season of feasting before the start of Lenten fasting on Ash Wednesday. The word carnevale comes from a late Latin expression meaning ‘farewell to the flesh’, essentially one long goodbye to your dinner. The final day of fun is known as Mardi Gras, or 'Fat Tuesday'.

In New Orleans, early generations of Creoles celebrated carnival season with organized masquerade balls. Beyond the walls of these private society dances, masked revelers would continue the party in the streets. Today, this tradition is maintained, with private society balls and public parades filling the pre-Lenten calendar.

The first New Orleans float appeared in 1857 when a group of wealthy and secretive Anglos, calling themselves the Mistick Krewe of Comus, paraded through town on floats lit by flambeaux .

• Saturday January 23 The bawdy Krewe du Vieux gets the party started. It is one of the few parades that travels through the French Quarter.
• Saturday January 30 Join the BacchanALIENS in the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus in Marigny.
• Sunday January 31  The Barkus parade woofs through the French Quarter at 2pm.
• Friday February 5 Le Krewe d’Etat keeps things raunchy in Uptown.
• Saturday, February 6 Endymion rolls through Mid-City with a theme of 'Fantastic Voyages'.
• Sunday February 7 Bacchus brings the god of wine, 30 marching bands and actor John C. Reilly to Uptown.
• Monday February 8 Co-founded by Harrick Connick Jr, super-krewe Orpheus parades through Uptown.
• Tuesday February 9 Mardi Gras is here! Rise early for the Zulus' parade and its prized hand-painted coconuts in Uptown. King of the carnival, the Krewe of Rex, with its fancy monarch, follows at 10am.

Top tips for a great Mardi Gras

• Pick your procession Parades carouse through New Orleans on different routes. All the parades are fun, but check times and locations so that you don’t miss the ones likeliest to strike your fancy. Zulu and Rex are always a good bet. The parade scene gets rowdier and more crowded as Mardi Gras approaches.
• Consider your view What is most important to you during a parade? Proximity to a bathroom? Somewhere to sit? A prime spot for your kid on the sidewalk? Do a little research to avoid disappointment. Some churches will let you use their restrooms for a small fee, and there are seating stands on some routes.
• Wear a costume You don’t have to don a mask or costume, but you might appear lame if you don’t. And really, who wants that?
• Step on doubloons Your fingers will get smashed if you reach for these popular coin throws when they hit the street. Instead, step on the doubloon to claim it and wait for a chance to pick it up. And remember, locals can get feisty when scrambling for unique throws. Don’t take their efforts personally. As one resident explained, 'All is fair when trying to catch something.'
• Beware of Bourbon Street Rowdy drunks. Sloshing beer. And naughty flashes of, well, whatever you can imagine. From the final weekend of carnival until Tuesday night, Bourbon Street is a mosh pit of sweaty drunken mayhem – a good or bad thing depending on your persuasion.
• Embrace the chaos Don’t stress too much about parade schedules or things going wrong. Carnival is one long party. Surprises and goofs add to the fun and the memories.

More information

For parade routes and schedules, visit mardigrasneworleans.com. If you would like to track the progress of a parade, download the GPS-enhanced Mardi Gras Parade Tracker app from WWL News .  Some krewes also have Twitter accounts. For the full Mardi Gras scoop, buy Arthur Hardy’s annual Mardi Gras Guide .