Mardi Gras 2023

From Margaret dancing with Zulu, to Fletcher and Sharief racing on the route, here are the best moments from Mardi Gras Day.

Some were sleeping on folding chairs on St. Charles Avenue. Others set up grills on the sidewalk, roasting chicken and ribs near the police barricades.

It’s members had spent the morning performing in the streets of the French Quarter, equally awing the crowds and in awe of the color that swirled around them. Two members of the "Krewe of Injury Attorneys," as she called their group, are from Iowa and were shocked at the day's revelry. Going by “Union Jackie” for the day, he’d retired to his house for a break after finding the bathroom at the bar where he spent the morning was broken. In Metairie, the weather brought more parade-goers than usual to cheer the Krewe of Argus on its 50th roll down Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Covington and Folsom held their own celebrations as well. Dancers in neon bounced and gyrated atop the Krewe of Dystopian Paradise’s six-foot-high mobile stage on Kerlerec Street as music blasted from the platform’s speakers. Peter and Royal streets as a partiers danced to the rhythms of Omaracuja, a band of samba-reggae drummers from Paris that came to play in Bacchus. Meanwhile, a riot of colors erupted as the Society of St. Topical costumes were relatively rare, though some quick thinkers had assembled blow-up suits adorned with the Chinese flag to capitalize on the recent reports of spy balloons. Etienne said he had been coming to the same spot for 54 years, since his parents bought their house half a block from Jackson Avenue on Brainard in 1969. Anne began their pilgrimage through the Marigny and French Quarter to the Mississippi River. Others set up grills on the sidewalk, roasting chicken and ribs near the police barricades. With ideal weather, the celebrations rolled across the city.

Mardi Gras is a time of celebration before Lent, but do you know the history of the revelry? Take a look at the day's background and where to party.

Once the cake is out of the oven and cooled, pour on the the glaze and then decorate as you wish. If you'd like to go the traditional route and use standing sugar, you can either use store-bought or make your own by placing a few tablespoons of white sugar in a Ziploc bag with a few drops of food coloring and shaking it up. Remove the can as soon as the cake comes out of the oven. When the dough is finished rising, transfer it to a large piece of parchment paper and roll it out to a 9 X 13-inch rectangle. Remove it from heat, stir in the pecans, and then set it aside to cool while the dough finishes rising. Stir in the brown sugar and continue stirring until the mixture starts to bubble. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add that and the butter mixture to the dry ingredients. As the tradition spread through Europe, it became Mardi Gras in France, where waffles and crepes are prepared as part of a lavish feast. French settlers brought Mardi Gras to New Orleans and the Louisiana territory. The cake has a trinket or baby figurine baked inside it to symbolize Christ and is eaten throughout Carnival festivities. Thousands of people gather each year in Mexico City to polish off a mile-long "Rosca de Reyes," or king cake, a staple of the holiday. After Christianity arrived in Rome, old traditions were incorporated into the new faith and debauchery became a prelude to the Lenten season.

Taylor Toole brings us one final look at Mardi Gras 2023 festivities as many across Acadiana now head into Lent.

[newsletters emailed to your inbox.](https://www.katc.com/account/manage-email-preferences) Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers [Subscribe to our Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/KATCnews) To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click — As Mardi Gras 2023 comes to an end with King Gabriel's Ball and much of Acadiana prepares for Lent, we take a look back at some of Carnival season's best moments.

Residents and tourists alike celebrate Fat Tuesday in the French Quarter during the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.

Crowds packed the streets of New Orleans for Mardi Gras 2023 on February 21, 2023, known as Fat Tuesday. The annual event, which marks the end of the ...