Covid 19 has given New Orleans and Mardi Gras a surprising new look. Photo / Erika Goldring, Getty Images
Covid 19 has given New Orleans and Mardi Gras a surprising new look. Photo / Erika Goldring, Getty Images
New Orleans biggest street party has got a "new look" in the era of stay home restrictions.
Mardi Gras has undergone an ambitious reimagining, with all public celebrations cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis and a curb on the usual visitor numbers.
The city's float builders and carnival troupes who would normally be preparing to bring the party to the French Quarter have turned their focus a little closer to home, transforming front gardens and buildings into a 'static parade'.
'Goin Down Da Bayou house': 3000 New Orleans residents have joined the static parade.
Photo / Erika Goldring, Getty Images
"I want to be very clear. Mardi Gras 2021 is not cancelled. It is going to look different. The mayor has been very consistent about saying that at every stage," the communications director for Mayor LaToya Cantrell, told media last November. Traditional celebrations were canned at the end of last year, when it became clear that a carnival could not safely go ahead.
Part of the new look has been something NOLA has called the "Krewe of House Floats".
There are nearly 3000 houses that are taking place in New Orleans and its suburbs.
Papier-mache decorations celebrate local blues musicians, carnival floats and the odd bright-red crayfish. Sound systems belt out honky-tonk classics, and bands have even arranged "drive-by" concerts.
"Krewe of House Floats is a new, non-traditional krewe created specifically for the times we're living in," says local tourism board, NOLA. It is "an opportunity for spectators to drive on by and remain safe from others."
Don't stop the party: restaurant Commander's Palace decorated in honor of former New Orleans jazz musician Pete Fountain. Photo / Erika Goldring, Getty Images
"In its essence, it's not much different than when people drive around with the kids in the car and look at the Christmas decorations, holiday lights," said journalist Doug MacCash who writes for The New Orleans Advocate.
Last year the famous Shrove Tuesday celebrations in Louisiana were identified as one of the early cluster events in the Pandemic. 1.4 million revellers joined almost 400,000 locals in street parties.
Stay at home: A New Orleans house decorated with a Mardi Gras jester. Photo / Erika Goldring, Getty Images
It was something Rebekah Gee, the Louisiana State University's head of healthcare called "the perfect storm."
"We shared cups. We shared each other's space in the crowds. People were in close contact catching [strings of] beads. It is now clear that people also caught coronavirus," she told the Guardian in April, last year.
Vudu: Late musician Dr. John and vudu symbols decorate a New Orleans house. Photo / Erika Goldring, Getty Images
This year "party at home" has been the message, with businesses and events catering for a remote pre-Lent carnival.
In the pivot to a pandemic businesses have created kits for making costumes, decorations and even the eye-catching 'King Cakes'- highly coloured platted bakes.
