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Carnival season in New Orleans is unique. Like other celebrations, families gather, food is abundant, and happiness abounds. But in New Orleans at Carnival time, there is something else in the air. Not something I can name exactly. It’s a mixture of decadence and absurdity. Sometimes the more absurd, the better. There is definitely too much drinking, especially from the “frat boys,” as my children call them. And the costumes run the gamut. But it’s the complete regard for absurdity that fascinates me.
I didn’t get a picture of myself, but I wore a pair of purple, gold, and green sparkly swirly sunglasses. I pinned a tiny top hat to my hair. My son-in-law had a pair of whacky sunglasses that he tried on Leo, my grandson.
Leo’s Mardi Gras shades. (photo by Katherine Simon Andry)
Here’s a picture of another baby we saw walking about. She didn’t seem to mind the wig.
Mardi Gras baby
You don’t quite know what you will see on the streets. Most people are kind and full of cheer. In my many years of attending New Orleans parades, I have never seen any violence. There are rampant rumors about it, but from my experience, Carnival is about having fun and the more absurd, the better.
Reflections on the Teche 