View of The Queen’s Jubilee House, whose decorations are sponsored by Krewe of Red Beans, on Jan. 24, 2021, in New Orleans, La. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling traditional Mardi Gras activities, New Orleanians are decorating their homes and businesses to resemble Mardi Gras floats. (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Mardi Gras 2020 was perhaps one of the last big celebrations before COVID-19 began running rampant in the U.S. Bourbon Street became a hot spot for the virus in March and April of 2020, but prior to Mardi Gras, Louisiana had not identified one case, and there were fewer than 50 reported cases in the whole of the U.S. In the weeks following the festival, cases in the state grew into the thousands, according to the New York Times.
Since then, for the past year, restrictions have put a damper on festivals and holidays, and this year's Mardi Gras looks a lot different.
New Orleans planned for a socially distanced Mardi Gras this year, but tourists began trickling in, and videos surfaced of maskless gatherings in the French Quarter and debauchery that looked similar to any other Festival season. City officials had to make the hard decision to crack down on partiers, closing all bars through the final weekend and into Fat Tuesday and cancelling planned outdoor activities.
But New Orleanians are finding ways to participate, even with parades cancelled and bars closed to discourage large gatherings. Homes started sprouting decorations, many sponsored by organizations that usually participates in the parades. Some pay tribute to front line workers, others feature depictions of famous New Orleans musicians or Mardi Gras Indians who have died. Some homes sport national political figures, such as Stacey Abrams, a glowing sun on top of a small, bright yellow home, shining above the likes of Raphael Warnock, John Lewis, Jon Ossoff and Shirley Chisholm.
In essence, the homes and businesses have become the parade floats.
There are roughly 3,000 house floats this year, a testament to New Orleans' resilience and loyalty to the festival that gives the city so much life every year. The house floats have given work to artists and raised money for local charities.
“I think it just really speaks to how desperate people have been for something positive to look forward to,” Megan Boudreaux, who came up with the idea of house floats, and quickly created the Krewe of House Floats, told The New York Times. “It doesn’t matter if your budget is zero and you’re recycling cardboard boxes, or whether your budget is tens of thousands of dollars and you’ve got a mansion on St. Charles. We want everyone who wants to do this to participate.”
The floats range from the elaborate to the simple, and stationary floats have been placed in New Orleans City Park for drive-by enjoyment as well.
Click through the slideshow above for a virtual tour of New Orleans' Mardi Gras 2021.
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