How to celebrate Fat Tuesday 2024 in New Orleans? Parades, costume parties, and more 

Fat Tuesday 2024 is here, and New Orleans is all decked up to celebrate. Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras as it is locally known, is an annual celebration in New Orleans where the whole city breaks out into a carnival.

The day signifies the last Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (which markets the onset of the Lent season for Catholic Christians). Lent season is a season of fasting and continues till Easter Monday (which usually comes after 46 days). Fat Tuesday marks the last day to indulge in fatty food and drinks before the official fasting period begins.

With French origins, the culture of Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) became an official holiday in Louisiana in 1875. The celebrations grew out of Catholicism in New Orleans and interweaved French, American, and African traditions. Parades, masquerade parties, and beads are integral to the celebration. As New Orleans gears up for the most awaited festival of the year, here is how to celebrate Fat Tuesday 2024 in style.

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Celebrate Fat Tuesday 2024 in New Orleans by checking out these parades, costume parties, and more

Mardi Gras is celebrated across a few cities in America, but no one does it like New Orleans. Fat Tuesday marks the end of a two-week-long parade period, with the most extravagant celebration on February 13. Here are some of the best things to check out in New Orleans to celebrate Fat Tuesday 2024 in style:

1) Northside Skull and Bones Gang in the Treme Neighbourhood

Emerging from the Treme neighborhood, this costume parade consists of a lively group who ensure that people are up and about as they start pounding doors at 5 am. A tradition that started centuries ago to scare the devil out of children is now one of the liveliest ways to kickstart Mardi Gras celebrations in the city.

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2) Walking Clubs in the Uptown and St. Charles Avenue area

Mardi Gras marching bands or walking clubs are an integral part of celebrations throughout the city. People partaking in celebrations can check out some of the best marching bands in and around St. Charles Avenue and Uptown in the early hours of Fat Tuesday 2024 in New Orleans. Brass bands celebrate with pomp and splendor as they set out for their morning March, engaging the city in a festive mood.

Some of the most renowned marching bands one can encounter are the Jefferson City Buzzards (a 134-year-old band), the Lyons Carnival Club, Mondo Kayo Social and Marching Club, and the New Orleans Baby Doll Ladies Marching Club, among others.

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3) Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club

A cornerstone of African-American culture in the city, the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parades from Claiborne Avenue through the French Quarter and stops at Broad Street. Their parade includes lively jazz music, hand-painted Zulu coconuts, and some of the most extravagant beads and fedoras.

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4) The Rex Krewe

The all-male crew has been celebrating Fat Tuesday since 1872 in style and organizes one of the largest parades in the city. Their theme for Fat Tuesday 2024 is The Two Worlds of Lafcadio Hearn – New Orleans and Japan. It celebrates a 19th-century cultural chronicler of the city.

A giant white bull surrounded by chefs (signifying the last day to dine on meat before Lent) is the trademark float of this parade, along with some of the most artistic floats carried across their procession.

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5) Afterparty at Bourbon Street

The celebrations of Fat Tuesday 2024 come together at Bourbon Street, where paraders join in a massive celebration. Food, drinks, flea markets, and music await people at Bourbon Street, which also witnesses the official closing ceremony of Mardi Gras during the night.

Visitors should ideally reserve a spot at one of the balconies along the numerous cafes on the street to get the best view of the celebrations and dancing.

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Fat Tuesday 2024 will be celebrated on February 13, 2024, so make sure to check out some of the best celebrations of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.