Louisiana is set to experience the quietest Mardi Gras weekend in living memory with public gatherings banned and parades canceled.
Mardi Gras Guide Publisher Arthur Hardy said this is a special and important time of year for Louisianans, and in our hearts we know we’re all missing something right now.
“That is the people experience, the hugging and dancing touching and singing and dancing and drinking and singing, it ain’t there no more,” said Hardy.
There’s near-universal agreement that Carnival 2020 was the super spreading event that sparked the deadly first wave of the pandemic in the New Orleans area.
Mardi Gras might be canceled but king cakes are still in production and Hardy says folks have adjusted by building nearly 3,000 house floats, some of the most prominent right along St. Charles Avenue.
“So it is a win-win, people being employed, merchants selling merchandise, and people are getting into the spirit,” said Hardy.
There is light at the end of the tunnel with vaccine production ramping up but Hardy said that won’t happen in time to hypothetically reschedule the holiday.
“If it can’t be done in May, and we have already given up on that, then I think it is too late,” said Hardy. “The summer has heat and hurricanes, the fall has French Quarter Fest, football, and hopefully Jazz Fest.”
Comments