For many Louisiana natives, Mardi Gras means extra holidays for drinking and catching bags of beads. But for Bliss Maginnis, it represents family history. Maginnis, communication studies senior, said her family is tied specifically to the Carnival season with a long line of traditions. She could trace her family history back to the first Mardi Gras queen, and today her grandmother designs costumes for the festival. But Maginnis said her parents won’t make the trek from California to the “Big Easy” to celebrate with the rest of the family this year, mainly because of the struggling economy. And, though Maginnis’s parents won’t experience Mardi Gras in 2009, locals predict Fat Tuesday will escape any signs of a growing national recession and are “cautiously optimistic” crowd numbers will be similar to pre-Hurricane Katrina parades. For the University, Mardi Gras holidays are from Feb.  23 to Feb. 25, but, for the city of New Orleans, the event lasts longer than a month. The parade schedule already kicked off Jan. 6.There are no signs that New Orleans will see a decrease in visitors, said Mary Beth Romig, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau communications director. “One thing going in our favor is that Mardi Gras is so late in February,” Romig said. Last year’s holiday was Feb. 5 — the earliest it could be on the calendar — compared to falling on Feb. 24 this year, Romig said. The three extra weeks gives businesses more time to sell their products, and the later date coincides with more out-of-state college students’ spring breaks. Many hotels are saying their bookings are up, Romig said. But the visitors bureau is cautious about claiming Mardi Gras numbers will rise to their 2004 record-high, drawing more than one million people during the season. About 750,000 people attended the parades last year, matching the 2007 numbers, Romig said. Gary Brewster, Krewe of Proteus parade official, said the oldest night parade hasn’t seen any decline in membership. “People look forward to Mardi Gras and what it brings each year,” Brewster said. “It’s a great time to be with friends and family and do some of the things … your father and grandfather before you did.” The challenge for Mardi Gras will be next year, Brewster said. The season is planned a year in advance, and members may be feeling the effects of the recession by the time next year’s fees are due this summer.Brewster said he expects tourism from out-of-state visitors to be lower, but locals and college students will still boost attendance.  An immediate effect from the economy is three krewes canceling parades this year, Brewster said. “[Mardi Gras] is one of the seasons that helps carry people through the slower times of year,” Romig said. The season can pump $1 billion into the city’s economy from hotels, retail sales of beads and costumes and school bands getting paid to march, Romig said.The Krewe of Proteus spends almost $150,000 on carnival throws, and it’s a smaller parade, Brewster said. A “super krewe” pays almost three times that amount because of their parade’s length.  Doloras Bergeron, general manager for Plush Appeal, a New Orleans based Mardi Gras store, said the company’s sales haven’t decreased from their customers. Plush Appeal provides portions of the Mardi Gras throws to more than forty Krewes in the state. Mardi Gras is a normal way of life for many people, and they are committed to keeping the season thriving, Bergeron said.After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans natives went to stores to get their throws even if they didn’t have a house left, she said. “Mardi Gras is alive and well this year,” she said.Stephen Toomey, owner of the Alabama-based Mardi Gras store Toomey’s, said the economy hasn’t affected any of his market. “The longer selling season certainly helps,” Toomey said. “And times are tough, and people need an escape.” Laura Monteilh, Parties Start Here manager, a Baton Rouge-based Mardi Gras store, said the store competes with New Orleans stores because customers don’t have to leave Baton Rouge to get Mardi Gras products. The store has been flooded with local customers and out-of-town visitors in the past few weeks, Monteilh said. Sami Richardson, English senior, won’t be celebrating Mardi Gras week because she couldn’t take off from her campus job.Richardson said she’s will try to go early to the smaller parades but skip the big parades because of work. Alex Gruntz, sociology freshman, said he, along with all his friends, will head to New Orleans the Friday before Mardi Gras to party through Tuesday. His group of friends find an old couch and carry it onto the median — or neutral ground — to claim a front-row seat to the parades, Gruntz said. “It’s the best week of the whole year,” he said. —-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]