Mardi Gras 2021 (Parades, Some Krewes going Virtual) Not Happening! (1 Viewer)

This is not ‘breaking news’.. Not directing this at the OP, since I’ve seen it as Breaking News this morning on other sites as well, but my brother has a company that does a little bit of contract work for the City of NO, and he told me way back in March of this year, when the pandemic and lockdowns were first starting - that word from the Mayor’s office is that there would be no Mardi Gras in 2021.. i thought he was mistaken so I asked him to repeat himself, but he said that’s right, 2021.. He is in no way an ‘insider’ with any special clearance or whatever, so if my brother has known for 7 or 8 months, then it’s pretty common knowledge... and honestly, when you sit back and realize that Mardi Gras 2021 is less than 3 months from today, then it’s a no-brainer to cancel it.

I think it's only breaking in the sense that it's official now? It's certainly not been a secret that this would happen, but I don't recall any official announcement of the cancellations.
 
I'm sure the politics and the nation wide criticism she took for having Mardi Gras last year influenced her decision, but there really was no choice. 2020 Mardi Gras was probably the main reason that New Orleans was such a hot spot early in the pandemic and we started from zero cases in New Orleans and not many in the country. If we had parades in 2021 with the level of cases we have now in New Orleans and then add in people from around the country from areas that have outbreaks, it would be exponentially worse this time around.

I don't really remember the criticism I guess. We as a nation were still pretty naïve about the virus. We thought that the first confirmed cases in the country were the actual first cases. And I had people at my work who were very sick with bad breathing problems a good 3 weeks before Mardi Gras. I really think those were likely cases of Covid and we just were not testing yet. In retrospect, with the number of people who congregate for Mardi Gras, the only surprising thing is that it wasn't worse.
 
I think it's only breaking in the sense that it's official now? It's certainly not been a secret that this would happen, but I don't recall any official announcement of the cancellations.

Yeah, it had not been official before and several Krews have been discussing whether they will parade or not. Some, like Krew Du Vieux, decided that they will not and will focus on doing things for charity and art installations around the city. However, I think that Endymion has been talking big about parading this year.

The really interesting/controversial issue will be whether Jefferson Parish decides to have parades and whether Krews like Endymion and Bacchus will try to parade in Jefferson this year. If that happens, it's really won't make much difference if there are parades in New Orleans or not. Although I would guess less tourists would be up for coming to town to watch parades on Veterans Blvd.
 
I'm sure the politics and the nation wide criticism she took for having Mardi Gras last year influenced her decision, but there really was no choice. 2020 Mardi Gras was probably the main reason that New Orleans was such a hot spot early in the pandemic and we started from zero cases in New Orleans and not many in the country. If we had parades in 2021 with the level of cases we have now in New Orleans and then add in people from around the country from areas that have outbreaks, it would be exponentially worse this time around.

I understand the rationale and I am not surprised by the decision. At all.

Just pointing out that scrapping all of it and saying "we'll just double down in 2022!" ignores a lot of the costs that come with this. Either way, some big bills will be coming due and the city is digging itself into a deeper hole. Just pointing out the math we are up against.

I had heard rumors of trying to convince her to 'postpone' MG (at least the parades and balls, not, uh, the religious calendar) until Fall of 21. Obviously that went nowhere.
 
I don't really remember the criticism I guess. We as a nation were still pretty naïve about the virus. We thought that the first confirmed cases in the country were the actual first cases. And I had people at my work who were very sick with bad breathing problems a good 3 weeks before Mardi Gras. I really think those were likely cases of Covid and we just were not testing yet. In retrospect, with the number of people who congregate for Mardi Gras, the only surprising thing is that it wasn't worse.

Yeah, I think in retrospect it was here before Mardi Gras. It's just that those who knew how bad it was weren't telling and those who were saying stuff just weren't in positions to get to people in power.

There were several articles in national publications criticizing LaToya for not cancelling Mardi Gras and talk of it on social media and on TV news shows. I think she even did a few national interviews explaining what the City knew and why they didn't cancel.
 
Sooooooo do i still get Fat Tuesday off work? ? ?
 
Kenner/Metairie officials on the phones to Krewes yet?

Cynthia Lee isn't that crazy or desperate. Remember, every time New Orleans has had terrible numbers, Jefferson Parish was right behind them. More than anywhere else, those two parishes are attached at the hip.
 
I understand the rationale and I am not surprised by the decision. At all.

Just pointing out that scrapping all of it and saying "we'll just double down in 2022!" ignores a lot of the costs that come with this. Either way, some big bills will be coming due and the city is digging itself into a deeper hole. Just pointing out the math we are up against.

I had heard rumors of trying to convince her to 'postpone' MG (at least the parades and balls, not, uh, the religious calendar) until Fall of 21. Obviously that went nowhere.


I hear you. There is no doubt this is really bad for the New Orleans economy and I'm not happy it is having to be done, but I don't see much choice. Hopefully we have widespread availability of a vaccine by April and Jazz Fest, and maybe even French Quarter Fest, can go forward. That would at least cushion some of the blows and start the very slow road to recovery. And hopefully once the vaccine is widely distributed people will be in the mood to party again and it will result in a tourism boom for the City.

And, maybe there is still a chance to have parades in the summer or early fall of 2021. I suspect most of the Krews would be up for it. As for the balls, once the COVID restrictions are lifted, I don't see anything really stopping them from having balls whenever they want.

I mean, I know all this is pretty doom and gloom, and it's going to be a very gloomy few months in terms of both COVID deaths and economics, but I'm just trying to look for light at the end of the tunnel and hoping that the tunnel is fairly short.
 
I don't really think many crews even want to. That is a ton of commitment to something that was never likely to happen anyway.
I don't either...

Endymion was holding out on the coronation ball and extravaganza order forms because everything was still up in the air... But the Extravaganza is a huge money maker for the krewe. Can't see us parading in Metry without it...

Besides, they already told krewe members our dues will roll over to 2022 if we don't roll...
 
Yeah, it had not been official before and several Krews have been discussing whether they will parade or not. Some, like Krew Du Vieux, decided that they will not and will focus on doing things for charity and art installations around the city. However, I think that Endymion has been talking big about parading this year.

The really interesting/controversial issue will be whether Jefferson Parish decides to have parades and whether Krews like Endymion and Bacchus will try to parade in Jefferson this year. If that happens, it's really won't make much difference if there are parades in New Orleans or not. Although I would guess less tourists would be up for coming to town to watch parades on Veterans Blvd.
Veterans Blvd has Egg Roll House. Seriously have you seen the road construction on Severn by Lakeside and Veterans. What a mess. They going to get that fixed up anytime soon? It looks like one of those NOLA S&WB 10 year projects.
 
She's now crawfishing.... She doesn't want to be the ***** who canceled Mardi Gras and wants to put the blame on the krewe captains for not wanting to following the regulations... She would rather throw them under the bus than make her look like the bad guy...

Cancelation by proxy...




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Hypothetically, even if Mardi Gras was still on, would you still attend? I wouldn't because common sense. It is the same reason I won't go dine in at some of my favorite spots but will instead opt for take out. This virus is exploding and we haven't even seen its final form yet, these winter months are going to be catastrophic if states don't wise up and start locking stuff down. Although, with no federal relief backing those lockdowns for the for seeable future, big yikes is coming. If the earliest a vaccine can hit the public is April/May, there are going to be some dark months coming ahead.
 
Yeah, it had not been official before and several Krews have been discussing whether they will parade or not. Some, like Krew Du Vieux, decided that they will not and will focus on doing things for charity and art installations around the city. However, I think that Endymion has been talking big about parading this year.

The really interesting/controversial issue will be whether Jefferson Parish decides to have parades and whether Krews like Endymion and Bacchus will try to parade in Jefferson this year. If that happens, it's really won't make much difference if there are parades in New Orleans or not. Although I would guess less tourists would be up for coming to town to watch parades on Veterans Blvd.
I heard Jefferson will not allow those Krewes to parade in their areas.
 

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