Episode 239: Royal Sonesta Hotel’s Annual Greasing of the Poles

Greasing of the poles that are outside of the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans during Carnival may now be the start of many reveler’s Deep Gras – the final weekend before Mardi Gras Day – but this practice was originally born out of necessity.

Adrienne Breaux, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, tells us all about the history of the practice that is now an annual event from its beginnings right as the hotel opened in the 60’s to today’s grand spectacle that has four celebrity “greasers,” well-known judges and a crowd in the thousands.