My favorite part of Mardi Gras was seeing people in their costumes and watching the way people interact.  I loved seeing some of the creative and clever costumes people came up with and was amazed by the courage people had to wear them in public, young and old alike.  For the day, people could mask their identity and become anyone or anything they wished to be.  There was an overall sense of happiness that I could see across people’s faces, whether they were taking and posing for pictures, jumping for beads, dancing in the street, or walking and watching from a spectator’s point of view.  After the parades the streets filled with people and a walking parade took part in Jackson Square.  There was suddenly a heightened feeling of excitement and energy.  I enjoyed this parade, perhaps more than the main parades, because I could see people genuinely having a good time, enjoying the company of others despite many being strangers, and putting up a worry free front.  I liked that there was something different happening on every block of the French Quarter, but at the same time, everyone was united by a common interest.  

 

Being my first time at Mardi Gras, I cannot accurately compare this year to previous years, however, I got the feeling that the number of people there was not yet up to what it used to be before Hurricane Katrina.  I had been told from a man who was once a New Orleans resident and experienced Mardi Gras participant, that Bourbon Street was usually densely packed and almost impossible to travel from one end to the other by the middle of the day.  Surprisingly, we were able to navigate our way through with considerable ease.  The outskirts of the French Quarter still show evidence of the devastation, however the culture of New Orleans continues to thrive, indicating that the recovery process is not complete, but certainly a work in progress.