Usually Mardi Gras consists of the weekend of Krewe du Vieux/Krewe Delusion and then two larger, consecutive weekends of Mardi Gras festivities ultimately leading up to Fat Tuesday/Ash Wednesday.  Visitors usually come into town the last weekend which leads up to Mardi Gras day itself; however, there is usually plenty going on the weekend before. This year, with New Orleans hosting the Super Bowl, the two big weekends have been divided in two–with the Super Bowl smack in the middle. To say that this been a crazy Mardi Gras season is an understatement. So much energy and preparation going into the Super Bowl! Add that on to the regular high-energy and preparation that usually goes into Mardi Gras season…Craziness!

Two weeks ago, when frigid weather was moving into the Midwest, a couple of friends and family members made calls to see if they could still come down for a visit. My old Peace Corps’ friend Kelly and her family decided to take advantage of our standing offer to visit and drove from Ohio through snow, sleet, ice and rain last Friday to thoroughly take advantage of a weekend of 70 degree temperatures, sunshine and daily parades.

So cool to be able to reconnect with an old friend and see Mardi Gras Weekend Two through Kelly’s kids eyes!

The Budweiser Clydesdales were in the first parade on Saturday

Kelly and her youngest, Daniel

Marching bands and cheerleaders as well as bands riding on floats replace the walking brass bands and jazz bands of Krewe du Vieux

It’s all about the beads!

Brothers Daniel and Andrew

High school cheerleaders/dancers aren’t the only ones to perform in these Mardi Gras parades.

The reward for standing and watching the parades, besides seeing cool floats and some excellent performers, are the ‘throws’. From beads to stuffed animals, toys, and parade specific coins, gathering as many throws as one can is the goal. And kids are throw magnets…people riding in the floats love to give their loot to the kids. I wish we would have gotten a picture of all of the beads and other throws that Kelly and Family gathered over the course of two days worth (5 total) of parades!

This is just a sampling of the loot!