New Orleans 1st Logo

Good times are rolling on abbreviated schedule

Section: Community

John Pope

If you need proof that life is moving at warp speed, take a look at this year's Carnival.

The season for which New Orleans is best known lasts a day short of a month, from Twelfth Night on Jan. 6 through Mardi Gras, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. It will be the earliest Fat Tuesday since 1913, when the big day was Feb. 4.

It's not as if this is a big surprise, because the dates are calculated decades in advance. Nevertheless, tourism officials predict this year's Carnival probably will not be stellar in terms of out-of-town turnout because people haven't gotten over their holiday bills and because Mardi Gras and the preceding weekend are nowhere near any college's spring break, said Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.

And because this will be the third post-Katrina Carnival, "as we're getting back to what we hope will be normal," she said, there probably will be less media attention on this year's celebration.

There will be other reasons, too, for a diminished news media presence. As Hulk Hogan rolls in the Bacchus parade Feb. 3, much of the nation will be glued to television screens watching Super Bowl XLII. Two days later, while hundreds of thousands of local revelers will be taking to the streets on Fat Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of voters in 22 states will be participating in presidential primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday.

Louisiana's Democratic primary and Republican caucus will come four days later on Feb. 9. It's the same day when caucuses will be held in Kansas, Nebraska and Washington.

But nobody in the local tourism business is complaining about Carnival.

"Look at the blessings that bookend the holiday," Romig said. The college football championship, which Louisiana State University won, was held Monday, and the National Basketball Association's All-Star Game will be held Feb. 17.

Another highlight, she said, is that the Krewe of Endymion is returning to its traditional Mid-City route Feb. 2.

"We're looking at the glass definitely almost filled," Romig said.

To figure out when Mardi Gras will occur, start with Easter, which is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring.

Before Easter come the 40 days of Lent. To find Mardi Gras, count backward 40 days, not including Sundays.

The earliest date on which Mardi Gras can occur is Feb. 3, and the latest is March 9. While Mardi Gras hasn't fallen on Feb. 3 and isn't likely to do so anytime soon, it was on March 9 in 1886 and 1943.

Mardi Gras fell on a Leap Day in 1876, and it is scheduled to do so again in 2028. Since the celebration began in New Orleans in 1857, the dates with the most Fat Tuesdays -- seven -- have been Feb. 17 and March 1.

Mardi Gras 2009 will be Feb. 24.

More Articles