Delay Mardi Gras to Easter or possibly the Fourth of July

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Columnist

Shrove Tuesday, traditionally the last day to feast upon meat before the advent of Lent, grew into a festival of such Bacchanalian scope that it came to earn the title Carnivale, or “farewell to the flesh.” In the tradition of the French founders of New Orleans, the culminating day of the festival came to be known for its large beef dinner, or Boeuf Gras, so therefore that Tuesday before Ash Wednesday became Mardi Gras.

Other than the fact that meat should be avoided by Catholics during Lent, there is no religious reason or societal imperative that Mardi Gras occur on February 16, 2021. That is the safety solution suggested by Jefferson Parish Councilperson Jennifer Van Vrancken. Her proposed ordinance would move the Carnival season in Jefferson to after Easter or around the Fourth of July. The key to the authorization of krewes to parade would rest upon whether COVID-19 infection rates stay stable or if a vaccine becomes available.

Van Vrancken’s solution stands as a far superior solution than to cancel all Mardi Gras parades in 2021, and Mayor LaToya Cantrell should reconsider her decision to do so. And perhaps coordinate with her colleagues across the 17th Street Canal to find a mutually agreeable new date for Carnival. Or Cantrell may find that many Orleans Parish krewes, who have already paid for the construction of their floats and the acquisition of their throws, might choose to parade on Veterans Boulevard as they did during the 1979 NOPD police strike.

This might occur, even though the proposed ordinance no longer has the language that specifically invites Orleans krewes to parade in Jefferson. According to sources within the Yenni building, that option very much exists despite the skeptical opposition of Sheriff Joe Lopinto. Due to the financial commitments that many krewes must make over a year in advance to float makers and the suppliers, many carnival organizations cannot afford to skip a year and still survive. Super-krewes such as Bacchus or Orpheus and old line organizations like Proteus or Rex can survive the financial hit by assessing their affluent memberships, but for many carnival organizations, having the average member have to swallow $1,000 in losses or more with no compensating parade could be their death knell.

Nor would the Jefferson Parish councilwoman’s proposal be without its safety provisions. Even if the council gives the go ahead at their vote on Dec. 9, the suburban parades could be scrapped. Van Vrancken noted that her legislation looks to have triggers similar to what exists in the Louisiana state government’s rules governing bar openings. In other words, should her parish’s test positivity rates rise above 10 percent in the two weeks before the postponed Carnival, the whole thing could be called off, according to the draft of the ordinance.

Nor would the presentational integrity of the old line Carnival balls, either Black or white, be affected by such a delay. Debutante presentation balls from Young Men Illinois to Comus announced last week that they were delaying their 2021 season until the next year, and moving the average age of debutantes to over 21 – i.e. seniors in college. The COVID crisis provided a long sought after opportunity to make sure all debutantes were at least of legal drinking age, so no one previously planning to make their debut would miss out. In other words, such a proposal to move the dates for Mardi Gras to around Easter or later deals with the non-society krewes – inclusive of all.

Easter weekend itself is available, as is the weekend between French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest, as is the July 4th holiday. (Brazil already decided to move its Carnivale in Rio to July). Moreover, despite the objection of purists, some of the most prominent krewes in New Orleans Carnival have paraded outside of the Twelfth Night to Shrove Tuesday window. In point of fact, the tradition of throwing beads originally was conceived as a sort of Christmas present given freely to the general public. There have been Mardi Gras parades on New Year’s Eve. Nothing says that amidst this emergency, when a vaccine might not be available until March, that New Orleanians couldn’t “change around the rules” of carnival – just for 2021. The very existence of many Mardi Gras organizations might depend on their ability to parade, and not miss a year.

This article originally published in the November 30, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.