Mardi Gras revelers across the New Orleans Metro Area will have to wait until tomorrow for parades to resume and two days for another parade to roll through the streets of New Orleans.
MARDI GRAS GUIDE publisher Arthur Hardy says this short break is certainly welcomed by krewes and city leaders alike.
"It makes all the sense in the world, and, frankly, we need it. We really do," Hardy said.
Hardy says this rest period will give the police officers who provide security during the parade a chance to recover from the long weekend. He also notes the down time gives city leaders a chance to take care of problems that may have popped up during last weekend's parades, including trim tree limbs and branches that caused issues during the Pygmalion Parade.
"We had some issues with low-hanging limbs on Magazine Street and St. Charles that we discovered this weekend," Hardy said. "So, that gives the Parks and Parkways Commission a chance to trim those if they indeed need trimming. Having a couple of days off, you can address any issues that came up on that first weekend logistically in the formation area and in the disband. So it makes a whole lot of sense to have these couple of days off."
According to Hardy says it's been 18 years since a parade rolled through New Orleans on the Tuesday before Mardi Gras and more than 30 years since the city has had a parade on the Monday before Lundi Gras. Hardy says the benefits that come from these rest days make it unlikely for any parades to ever move into those slots.
"No one wants to parade early in the week," Hardy said. "It's school nights. You're recovering from one weekend and getting ready for the next. So Monday and Tuesday have not been traditional days krewes have sought to parade, especially once parades started going downtown."
This year, the rest days will give businesses, especially restaurants, an added bonus: they'll now be able to focus on another holiday on the calendar.
"This year, you've got that little romantic holiday called Valentine's Day stuck right in the middle of those days," Hardy said.
Parades continue tomorrow on the Westbank with the Culinary Queens parade on Lapalco and Ames Boulevards. New Orleans parades continue on Wednesday when the krewes of Druids and Nyx roll along the Uptown route.
