Editor’s Note: Mardi Gras Hopping

I have had a lifetime of Mardi Gras celebrations but only in New Orleans. Since I was a baby, we’d find a spot on St. Charles Avenue, spread out a big blanket, prop up our chair ladders and spend Fat Tuesday there. Over time and stages in my life, the look and feel of Mardi Gras has changed, but it’s always been in the same spot.

Only, the more I learn about Mardi Gras in other places, the more I want to go explore. I’m not talking about Carnivale in cities like Venice or Rio de Janeiro. I mean, in my own backyard. Here in Louisiana, there are so many interesting, different celebrations that I feel curious to experience them all.

One of them is Courir de Mardi Gras. I’d heard of it before but never witnessed it in person. But this year, Kevin Rabalais has taken us along with him for a peek at this old tradition. I can’t describe it nearly as well as he does, so I won’t even try. I will say that it seems like an ancient ritualistic, slightly frightening thing — there are whips involved, after all — and it gives an entirely different take on the Mardi Gras I grew up with. Honestly, it looks as though it could be out of a horror film. So of course, I want to go experience this once in my life.

Also in this issue, Misty Milioto explores Mardi Gras celebrations in small towns—some with the same trappings as the Mardi Gras you might be used to, but others with surprising, unusual traditions. Most places celebrate in some way or other — you know there’s always a reason for a party.

So whether your Mardi Gras includes chair ladders and boxes of Popeyes fried chicken or whips and a communal gumbo, I hope you enjoy a day that’s as Louisiana as it comes.

Cheers!