NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Mardi Gras 2024 was one for the books, but it’s one the Carnival Legislative Advisory Committee said they are learning challenges from.
Two big hassles are tents and make-shift-porta potties along the neutral ground.
“It’s an impediment to foot traffic for those that are going to watch the parade and a lot of these folks end up spilling the street and becomes a safety and a timing issue where the parades get slowed down,” said James Reiss.
“As we look forward to revising in the start what will be outright prohibited tents are on the list,” said Councilmember-at-Large JP Morrell.
This season, there was a collision between a float and a tree limb, which stopped the parade for more than an hour. Mardi Gras World CEO Barry Kern admits the turn was tough, but says the delay was made worse by crowds forcing floats to pause.
“If you watch any parade, you see it stopping a lot more. This year, we are putting GPS on floats to see who is stopping and the crews wanted to do the same thing,” said Kern.
For the second year in a row, confetti caused a power outage. Morrell is sending a swift warning to crews that try to use it next year.
“Might be next time the power goes out, the crew is responsible for it, because this is absolutely on crews. If your member shoots a mylar confetti. If we find bad actors, this was your warning year,” said Morrell.
Morrell adds four krewes were in violation for not having enough marching bands. He says krewes that don’t follow protocols can be canceled.
If you cannot meet the criteria of meeting your side of the agreement, that is the reason why Mardi Gras crews are in an ordinance and can be added and subtracted. We have a waiting list of crews that want to be in Mardi Gras,” said Morrell.
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