With Carnival season kicking into full gear, younger out-of-state and international students are looking forward to their first Mardi Gras in Louisiana.
Many Mardi Gras first-timers only know either the X-rated Bourbon St. horror stories or nothing at all. The real history of Mardi Gras remains unknown to some students.
Louisiana has been celebrating Mardi Gras since the 1730s, and the first Mardi Gras krewe, the Mystic Krewe of Comus, was founded in 1856. Since then, Mardi Gras has remained Louisiana’s largest tourist attraction, generating around $20 million in tax revenues for the city of New Orleans alone.
Claire Duncan, an architecture and anthropology freshman from Augusta, Georgia, said her first Mardi Gras experience was a carnival ball for the Krewe of Olympia in Covington on Jan. 16. Duncan said she didn’t know how carnival balls operated, and the ball exceeded her expectations.
“I expected it to be just like prom … but I had no idea there would be a grown-up man dressed up with full makeup and jewels and a crown and
everything,” Duncan said.
Duncan said she is looking forward to Mardi Gras because she wants to experience Louisiana’s culture in its entirety. She said she’s most looking forward to the parades and her goal is to catch a painted coconut from the Krewe of Zulu, an all-African American parade that runs on Mardi Gras day and hands out painted coconuts to the crowd.
Chemical engineering freshman and Alaska native David Morris didn’t know how large a celebration Mardi Gras actually is in New Orleans and throughout the state.
“I thought it was just a parade that people went to one weekend,” Morris said. “I didn’t know it was a recognized holiday that all of Louisiana took part [in].”
For international students, Louisiana Mardi Gras culture is even more foreign. Tom Lee, a chemistry junior from Harpenden,England, said he didn’t know anything about Mardi Gras besides the stereotypical partying.
Lee said he’s looking forward to seeing New Orleans in a new light compared to the rest of the year.
“I didn’t know much — lots of parties on the street and big floats and lots of beads,” said Lee. “I’m looking forward to experiencing something unique.”
Industrial engineering freshman Mariana de Oliveira said even though Louisiana is far from her native country of Brazil, she feels a connection between Mardi Gras and the Brazilian celebration of Carnaval.
De Oliveira said the custom of wearing masks and costumes, the parades throughout the city and the overall spirit of celebration reminds her of home and Carnaval.
“I had never heard of Mardi Gras before I came to LSU,” de Oliveira said. “I’m looking forward to having a good time with my friends and maybe feel closer to Brazilian Carnaval.”
With Mardi Gras holiday less than two weeks away, Mardi Gras rookies all agree that the most important aspect of their carnival experience is getting to be a part of Louisiana culture.
“I have no idea what to even expect,” Duncan said, “so I’m just so excited to be able to experience it all.”