Mardi Gras pictures

Happy Mardi Gras! I only went to a few parades this year, because it was wicked cold and my fear of having things thrown at my head kicked in much quicker than usual, but I did take pictures at the one day parade I went to -- the Krewe of Iris, which is an all-women's day parade. It's a lot more toned down than some of the other ones (I couldn't quite escape Tucks, which followed it) and definitely a lot milder than the night parades (I could not make it to Muses. It was just too damn cold. And I knew Bacchus was going to be nuts, so I steered away from that, too), but Iris is one of my favorites just because it's very sweet and cute. Their theme this year was "Children's Classics" and yes, I admit it, I went in the vague hope there would be a Narnia float.

There was not a Narnia float. There was a float with a lion on the front, but that turned out to be for The Jungle Book. (I am pretty sure that there isn't a lion in The Jungle Book, but hey! Artistic license!) But I took pictures anyway, because I thought some of y'all might be interested in what a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans looks like. Again, disclaimer: Iris is a day parade, there are a lot of kids there, people usually aren't drunk yet, there are far fewer people at Iris than at the night parades, I was not on the residential part of St. Charles, so you don't get the full effect of the ladders.

( The Krewe of Iris (and a few of the Krewe of Tucks) )

And that is Mardi Gras in New Orleans! Well -- an understated portion of Mardi Gras, anyway. *grin*