Moving Parts

The country’s biggest annual celebration requires a whole lot of time, money, and effort.

It’s the biggest party in the world — and it’s already gotten started. On January 6, New Orleans began its first Mardi Gras parade, the first of dozens that will culminate on Fat Tuesday, February 28.

The first recorded celebration in the area occurred in 1699, and over the centuries, New Orleans has become practically synonymous with Mardi Gras. Over a million people come to see the celebrations in person every year — that’s more than triple New Orleans’ population. As tourists flood in, hotel rates skyrocket, but the 37,000 hotel rooms available in the city still reach nearly full capacity. The event, tied with the Christian tradition of feasting and drinking before Lent, is a boon for the city’s famous Cajun restaurant scene, as well as for its 3,000 bars. The University of New Orleans estimates that the event brings in $840 million in yearly revenue.

Those are some pretty impressive numbers, but none of it would be possible without the hundreds of hours, millions of dollars, and float-loads of creativity that the city devotes to the big event. Let’s take a look at how each year’s Mardi Gras celebration comes together, from the very first float to the big cleanup on Fat Tuesday.

The Parade

Many people assume that the city is responsible for coordinating the parades — in fact, they’re organized by everyday residents of the Big Easy. Dozens of Krewes, or the social clubs that work to put on the parades, contribute millions of dollars to furnish the floats, then to host balls and parties afterwards. There are over 70 major parades held during the Carnival Season, all of which are put together by groups of New Orleans citizens working together to commemorate an event that is near and dear to the city’s heart. A brief look at the parade schedule shows just how long the festivities last, and just how dedicated the organizers are.

One of the more famous Krewes, Endymion, boasts a budget of $7 million, as well as over 3,000 members. But in recent years, the smaller parades that occur in the days leading up to Mardi Gras have become more popular. For example, the Chewbaccus, a Star Wars-themed parade, has become a fan favorite; as has the pet-friendly Barkus, in which dogs march through the streets in costumes designed by their owners.

The floats themselves are behemoths, stretching 13 to 18 feet wide and 50 feet long and costing an average of $60,000 each. The largest float in history, introduced last year, combined eight 50-foot double decker floats and carried 400 Krewe members. Because the floats often parade for eight hours at a time, they typically have built-in bathrooms on board. Over the course of the typical Mardi Gras season, 822 floats roll down the streets of New Orleans.

In one of the parade’s most famous traditions, float-goers toss millions of beads to the spectators below them as they make their way through town, throwing a whopping total of 12,500 tons of beads. There are 12 major bead suppliers based in the city, and the largest of them sells one billion beads during every Carnival season.