Every year, the city of New Orleans transforms into a place of music, color, celebration, and tradition during Mardi Gras. Parades fill the streets, marching bands play lively songs, and elaborate floats carry costumed riders through neighborhoods filled with cheering crowds.

Part 5: Mardi Gras Today: Progress and Unfinished Business

Part 4: The Fight to Desegregate Carnival

Part 3: Segregation, Jim Crow, and Black Carnival

Part 2: The Golden Age of the Old‑Line Krewes

Part 1: Before the Krewes — Colonial Roots and the First Carnival