My Nightmare Mardi Gras (A Long Rant)
Wow thanks for all the replies! I'll try to tackle a couple points...
Come to Lafayette next time. Sorry for your experience but Lafayette really is a good place to go for Mardi Gras.
Yeah I'm learning to like the humble out-of-town parades more and more. A small, quiet parade in Mandeville, Baton Rouge, or Lafayette has its perks. Plus a 3 y/o couldn't care less about which parade they're seeing.
Why did you let those people get in front of you? Got to man up son!
Cant believe you were trying to get to Canal st. that time of the night during Carnival. Aint happening. It's a shame the cop was such butt. Why did you let him talk to you like that? Did you get his badge number?
For the family friendly parades you might want to stick to the day parades or the ones in Metarie.
I tried to "man up" as best I could, but a white nerdy guy vs. a group of 5 drunks just doesn't put the hand in my favor. I asked several people to move contantly but was just told to piss off.
The Canal Street thing ... yeah. My fault. I learned my lesson.
When I asked the cop for his badge number, he said "f- you." I posted about it on the Nola Police Facebook page twice and they removed both posts. Go figure.
Agreed in the future we will look for day parades and Metairie.
Being 49 and attending parades since a baby, you learn what and what not to do..... Don't let this get you down, learn from it and have a better time next year... Sorry about your bad experience.
I have no regrets. I learned a lot and I will learn more each year. It won't get me down (er, except for Nola night parades which I'm pretty much done with).
Yeah, I usually hit St. Charles also but I dont have kids. I know I see a lot of families out there that seem to be having fun. But it seems like the OP wanted something more structured and less rowdy.
The last 10 years before this we had always viewed the Sunday parades St. Charles at Girod just before Gallier Hall. It had progressively become worse and worse until finally last year some overzealous lady knocked over my aunt to try and grab some beads and that was it. They left and said they won't be back to Mardi Gras again, so we were left to find a spot on our own.
This.
1. Dont leave BR for Mardi Gras on a Friday evening. Traffic will be absolutely terrible. Either leave early in the day or late at night.
2. You might do better getting a hotel in Metarie or on the west bank.
3. Be prepared to pay to park. It is what it is. But I rather pay the bucks to park than have to deal with parking tickets.
4. Don't let people box you out. You get a spot you hold it down. You might have to elbow and be stern. Sometimes you might have to just move to a better spot. Be flexible.
1. I know, I'm a dumby for even thinking I could pull it off.
2. I really don't think the hotel would have been a problem had I checked in in the morning.
3. I was prepared to pay to park; problem was there was no parking.
4. I needed more people with me - friends, family, or backup of any kind. As just a humble 3 person family we simply don't command the authority we need to hold our spot.
We take multiple kids with us to the parades in uptown. We don't bring chairs and ladders, however. There are too many people for you to think you can possibly have a space to your own. Put the kid on your shoulders and get up in front with everyone else. It is a blast. Keep the chairs and gears back away from the street as home base. The locals have a point. We pay a premium to live in the neighborhood, still have to work and then somebody from out of town tries to tell us we have the stand behind their lawn furniture to see the parade? Not gonna happen.
I'm sorry you had a bad time. Please do try again. I'd recommend a less crowded and less gentrified area next time. It is literally half as crowded just blocks away. I'm sorry the cop as an ***. But I think it is to be expected this time a year. No use in arguing with them. Also, you simply cannot expect to get anywhere near canal or the quarter while a major parade is rolling.
Good luck next time. Happy Mardi Gras.
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I'm just not willing to do all that. I don't have to go through ANY of that for the Metairie parades and, frankly, I just don't have the willpower to fight with people over something so petty. I have to disagree with your sentiments about people in the area having privledge. I don't think anyone has a right to just walk in front of kids drunk as hell, cussing up a storm, and have zero regard for the people around them. I was born and raised in Nola; just because I'm not there now doesn't make me a second-class parade-goer.
Every parade I've been to this year has been super family-friendly.
Where were you standing and which parades?