This is the big week-end before Mardi Gras on Tuesday and the city is jumping, as usual. My social media feeds are rolling with parade photos and good fun but also with something else. Local snarkiness. Now I’m not saying I’ve never been snarky myself, but I am saying that I try to keep in mind that everybody’s not like me and doesn’t have to be. While tourists and new transplants make faux pas that tickle us, we’re often too prone to judging them. I’ve seen some posts on X this week by locals that made my eyes roll so hard they liked to popped out of my head. Outsiders & transplants don’t get everything about New Orleans as right as “multi-generational locals” but they love it or they wouldn’t come and they wouldn’t stay. Let’s face it, as much as you can have the times of your lives here, it’s also a difficult and dysfunctional place to live, day by day. Music, art, and history are the best things about New Orleans but there’s a long list of what does not work (and feels like never has) for the people who make their homes here.
Visitors and new transplants don’t know every tiny detail of the cultures (and there are many) or the why and the how. They don’t have to know all of it to enjoy being here and it’s ok if they get some things wrong. Heads up! It’s the ultimate compliment when someone wants to visit or live here. So don’t get your panties in a twist because someone says “NOLA” or “Nawlins” instead of New Orleans. What difference does it make? They aren’t trying to change your history or take away your culture. Chill!
Ok, that’s enough soap boxing and subtweeting. Like I said, it’s the Big Weekend and excitement is in the air. I’ve attended plenty of parades in my 40+ years and they are fun. For me, it’s the bands, the dance troops, the flambeaux I enjoy more than the floats, but the floats are fantastic. The amount of work and the time it takes for krewes to put it all together is mind-bending. I haven’t been to any parades in the past few years, even before the pandemic. The crowds are too big and rowdy for my taste. I’m not a big crowd kinda gal anymore.
The most fun I’ve had during Carnival was walking along with the secret society of St. Anne from the Bywater neighborhood to the river a few years ago. This piece in The Bitter Southerner about St. Anne was in my in-box and that’s what prompted this dashed-off post (along with snarky SM posts!). I recommend reading it because it is some fascinating New Orleans cultural history. The day I walked with St. Anne was a gorgeous day and my friends and I stopped at a few house parties along the way, dropped into Bourbon Street Awards show, laughed & imbibed, and generally had a great time. These are a few bad photos from that Mardi Gras Day.
And here’s a video of the coolest of the cool, the Neville Brothers, singing a foursome of New Orleans classics. Do take a few minutes to listen and EnJoY!
So much dazzle, I love it! Enjoy, Charlotte!
Happy Mardi Gras, Charlotte! I was listening to that exact video and more, all day today 💜💚💛 I just love the feeling in the air at this time.