Why is Mardi Gras celebrated? Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the last day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The Lenten season is dedicated to repentance and fasting in preparation for Easter. In preparation for this lean, hungry and virtuous season, age-old European tradition is to eat, drink and party like mad to get it out of their collective system. This season of frolic between Twelfth Night and Ash Wednesday is called Carnival (from the Latin "farewell to flesh" ). The Carnival ball is a formal party given by a krewe for its members and their guests. It consists of a royal court with king and queen, dukes and duchesses and the like, who are presented in lavish costumes to an audience of invited guests. The more traditional balls present tableaux, which are staged pageants that depict stories, usually from mythology or history. A queen's supper, which might be a dinner dance or informal party, often is held after the ball. Sometimes balls are also cotillions. The Original Illinois Club, for example, has an annual ball and debutante cotillion. That's because Carnival courts often are made up of

Who has balls now? By our informal count, there are 137 local Carnival balls. The first is always the Twelfth Night Ball, held on Jan. 6, or Kings' Day, by the Twelfth Night Revelers. This signals the start of the Carnival season. Traditional balls are still by far the most popular, with 87 organizations favoring them. Another 23 groups present tableaux, followed by balls or supper dances. Eighteen krewes have changed to supper dances alone, while seven stage balls followed by dances.

Tulane Residency Krewe: The Tulane Residency rolls in Atlas (the first Friday of the Carnival. It is a Friday parade (rolling at 7:30 pm) in Meterie. See Wiese if you want on the float. Cost is $100 to ride; you’ll want at least $200 worth of beads

SATURDAY, JANUARY 6
Phunny Phorty Phellows - Streetcar Route, 7:00 pm

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
Krewe du Vieux - French Quarter, 7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20
Orleans / Jefferson
Little Rascals - Metairie, 11:00 a.m

St. Tammany
Perseus - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25
Orleans / Jefferson
Oshun - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.
Atlas - Metairie, 6:30 p.m.
Cleopatra - West Bank, 6:30 p.m.
Excalibur - Metairie, 7:00 p.m.
Pygmalion - Uptown, 7:00 p.m.

St. Tammany
Eve - Mandeville, 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26
Orleans / Jefferson
Pontchartrain - Uptown, 1:00 p.m.
Shangri-La - Uptown, 2:00 p.m.
Caesar - Metairie, 6:00 p.m.
Sparta - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.
Pegasus - Uptown, 6:45 p.m.

St. Tammany
Olympia - Covington, 6:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27
Orleans / Jefferson
Alla - West Bank, Noon
Carrollton - Uptown, Noon
King Arthur - Uptown, 1:15 p.m.
Barkus - French Quarter, 2:00 p.m.
Rhea - Metairie, 3:45 p.m.
Centurions - Metairie, 5:30 p.m.

St. Bernard
Nemesis - Chalmette 2:00 p.m.

St. Tammany
Dionysus - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
Druids - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.
Thor - Metairie, 7:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
Babylon - Uptown, 5:45 p.m.
Chaos - Uptown, 6:30 p.m.
Muses - Uptown, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Orleans / Jefferson
Hermes - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.
Aquila - Metairie, 7:00 p.m.
d'Etat - Uptown, 6:30 p.m.
Jason - Metairie, 7:30 p.m.
Morpheus - Uptown, 7:45 p.m.

St. Tammany
Selene - Slidell, 6:30 p.m.
Orpheus - Mandeville, 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
NOMTOC - Westbank, 10:45 a.m.
Iris - Uptown, 11:00 a.m.
Tucks - Uptown, 12:30 p.m.
Endymion - Uptown, 4:30 p.m.
Isis - Metairie, 6:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Orleans / Jefferson
Okeanos - Uptown, 11:00 a.m.
Thoth - Uptown, 11:30 a.m.
Mid-City - Uptown, 2:00 p.m.
Bacchus - Uptown, 5:15 p.m.Napoleon - Metairie, 5:30 p.m.

St. Tammany
Tchefuncte - Madisonville, 10:00 a.m.

LUNDI GRAS, FEBRUARY 4
Proteus - Uptown, 5:15 p.m.
Orpheus - Uptown, 5:45 p.m.
Zeus - Metairie, 6:30 p.m.

MARDI GRAS, FEBRUARY 5
Orleans / Jefferson
Zulu - Uptown, 8:00 a.m.
Rex - Uptown, 10:00 a.m.
Elks Orleans - Uptown, 11:30 a.m.
Crescent City - Uptown, follows Elks
Argus - Metairie, 10:00 a.m.
Jefferson Trucks - Metairie, follows Argus
Elks Jefferson - Metairie, follows Jefferson
Grela - West Bank, 11:00 a.m.
Choctaw - West Bank, Noon

Future Mardi Gras Dates During Your Residency/ Fellowship

2008 February 5
2009 February 24
2010 February 16
2011 March 8
2012 February 21
2013 February 12
2014 March 4
2015 February 17
2016 February 9
2017 February 28
2018 February 13
2019 March 5
2020 February 25
2021 February 16

Important Mardi Gras tips (from the pros).

1. Bathrooms - Know where the nearest facilities are. Port-o-lets are around but lines are long. To use the restrooms in restaurants and bars, you need to purchase something. Lots of things are allowed during Mardi Gras, but not public urination. This will get you in the klink for the whole festival.

2. Sun screen. New Orleans is tropical, so bad sunburns can be had even in Feb.

3. Folding chairs - unless viewing parades from a balcony or grandstand, you might want to bring folding chairs with you. Of course, if you bring them, you have to carry them. If you are planning on just viewing parades, it's a great thing. If you planning on going to the Quarter, you won't want to lug them around.

4. Beverages- I think this goes without saying.

5. Don't reach down with your hands to pick up beads or doubloons: you will end up with a broken finger. Step on whatever you want, then retrieve it. Downtown, on St. Charles and Canal, especially, do not cross barricades to pick up throws.

6. Driving/parking/barricades- Police block traffic from major parade routes well before the parades. Allow extra time to arrive and find parking. On foot, take care not to cross police barricades. Especially on Canal Street, crossing a barricade