A respectable eating match on Bourbon Streethelped kick off the last frenzied days of New Orleans Friday’s Mardi Gras – loosen the dress code that requires a coat and quickly drop the pet ban in exchange for a pair of rescue dogs in crowns and capes.
The tennis-loving silver Labrador retrievers – named after Pete Sampras and Billie Jean King – ate lamb at Galatoire’s when they were proclaimed king and queen of the Mystic Krewe of Barkus. The animal welfare organization founded 30 years ago took the name as a cordial tribute to the great Carnival krewe Bacchus. Galatoire’s annual gathering supports fundraising efforts.
“The impact this has on other homeless dogs, it just keeps happening,” said Billie Jean owner Katherine Gelderman.
Outside, music was blaring from several bars on Bourbon Street as the city prepared for three grand parades Friday night on St. Historical Charles. Other Friday night parades are planned in neighboring Metairie, and there will be more than two dozen others almost nightly until Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, falls this year on the date. February 21.
“If you think about the complex logistics, through many neighborhoods, many krewes, many law enforcement agencies — this place is like Times Square on New Year’s Eve for two weeks,” said Kelly Schulz of New Orleans & Company, the trade association of the city’s tourism industry, said at a city news conference on Thursday.
Complicating that effort is the increase in crime and police shortages, which somewhat muted the return of celebration last year. Since the 2021 parades were canceled due to security and pandemic concerns, some routes for the 2022 parades have been cut.
This year, the original routes were restored and the local police department was supported by a team of 125 state soldiers and 170 other law enforcement officers from other state and local police agencies. to help keep order. By various estimates, the local police force has shrunk to about 900 members, hundreds less than local experts consider necessary.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other city officials said they were confident that safety could be maintained.
Joe Bikulege – co-owner of Le Bon Temps Roule, a bar and music club on Magazine Street – said businesses and residents welcomed the restored routes. “People have traditions and habits based on watching certain parades,” he said in a recent interview.
“That was taken away for three years,” he said.
And, Schulz said, it looks like tourists are planning to return in large numbers.
“So far, our hotel bookings are growing strongly,” says Schulz. “We see a lot of pent-up demand for travelers returning to New Orleans. For many, this will be their first experience of Mardi Gras, since before Covid.
Mardi Gras is the culmination of the Carnival season — officially starting each year on January 6, the 12th day after Christmas, known as King’s Day, in New Orleans and ending with an appearance by Lent on Ash Wednesday.
New Orleans’ boisterous celebration is the nation’s most famous celebration, but the holiday is also celebrated throughout Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Mobile, Alabama, claims to hold the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in the country.
This story was published from the wire dealer’s feed without text modification. Only the title has been changed.
