Happy Mardi Gras from New Orleans! It will be an unusual Mardi Gras Day today because of the weather. As reported not only in our local news but even in the New York Times, the National Weather Service warned that strong winds today could bring gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. You don’t want to be standing next to a tall float with winds that high! As a result, the parade schedule in New Orleans for today has been trimmed back substantially. The parades will start earlier to try to beat the bad weather, the routes will be much shorter, the parades themselves will be shorter with no bands between the floats, and the late morning/afternoon parades are being rescheduled for this Sunday. At least we will have some parades today; all of the parades in neighboring Jefferson Parish are cancelled/postponed. As a result, today will be a Mardi Gras Day for the history books along with other notable ones including:
- February 24, 1857: First Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, the Krewe of Comus
- 1862-1865: Parades cancelled due to the Civil War
- February 25, 1879: Most parades cancelled due to yellow fever epidemic
- February 14, 1899: Three inches of snow
- February 20, 1917: Three-way tie for warmest Mardi Gras with high of 83º
- 1918-1919: Mardi Gras cancelled due to World War I
- March 1, 1927: Wettest Mardi Gras with over two inches of rain
- February 9, 1932: Three-way tie for warmest Mardi Gras with high of 83º
- 1942-1945: Mardi Gras cancelled due to World War II
- February 27, 1979: New Orleans parades cancelled due to police strike.
- February 16, 2021: Coldest Mardi Gras with high of 33º + cancelled due to COVID-19
- February 21, 2023: Three-way tie for warmest Mardi Gras with high of 83º
Notwithstanding the changes for today, the biggest part of Mardi Gras season—the days leading up to Fat Tuesday—have been fantastic this year. The weather was amazing this past weekend, and I had so much fun spending time with lots of family and friends.
During the Iris parade this past Saturday, a crew member threw me a pair of beads with an iPhone on it. Of course, I have no idea who it was because riders have to wear masks, but I assume it was an iPhone J.D. reader who knew what I would love to catch:
Apple recently stopped selling any iPhone model with a home button, but that iconic design will live on in Mardi Gras beads and elsewhere.
Speaking of cool beads, I have to give credit to the marketing folks at my law firm. For the last few years, they have created beads to use at various firm events this time of year, and they are fantastic. Here are some recent ones:
Whatever you are doing today, I hope that at least a little bit of Mardi Gras spirit makes its way to you.
