The celebrity-filled super krewes may not be until next week, but there will be plenty for people to do this weekend, and plenty of people doing it.
"We expect to have a good number of visitors in town for this first weekend of Mardi Gras with parades starting on Friday night and continuing through the weekend," said Mark Romig, president of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation.
Romig says the late date for this year's Mardi Gras usually means more visitors, especially people from up north looking to escape winter weather.
"A later Mardi Gras usually brings in more of a northern bird, as they say, who wants to try some more seasonal type of temperature," said Romig, who said the later date also affords out-of-towners more time to plan their trips.
"You've got people with more time to plan after the first of the year to gather their family and their friends and plan out a visit to the city of New Orleans."