Mardi Blah
We went by a place on Press, along the railroad tracks in Bywater, near the Green Project. There’s this huge barn for storage of some major Mardi Gras floats…
They’re talking about a week-long Mardi Gras this year, due to the damage and the other logistical issues. I heard a National Guard official say on the radio yesterday that the Guard will be here at least through Maddi Gras. But, with all the construction guys and recovery folks in town, you wonder how much room there’s going to be for any tourists.
Not that anyone really gives a rip this time. I mean, we welcome every tourist dollar there is. But I get the feeling that Mardi Gras 2006 is going to be very much a Locals Only event, at least in many ways. I think it will be another opportunity to stake out ground and shake a fist (or maybe just one of the fingers) to show we intend on staying and rebuilding.
One float, one house, one street and one neighborhood at a time y’all.
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Some friends and I are planning on coming down. We have reservations - oooh - somewhere. I’m not handling that end - I’m responsible only for drinking! :-) I have family there as well, so it’s not like I’m a total tourist, but I want to do what I can to help - and tourist $$$ is about all I can swing right now.
A.
It will be fine if some tourists can come down and help the city’s tax revenue increase but I would actually prefer it to be a locals only event, like it was in the good old old days. After everything that those of us who are still here have gone through we somewhat deserve a tourist free mardi gras. Kind of a holiday for us believers who think we can build a better city
If you hang out in the Marigny/Bywater on Mardi Gras it’s always pretty much a locals affair. I welcome the tourists and their dollars, they can stay on their side of the Quarter and I’ll stay on mine.
Could it be a saving grace of Katrina that Mardi Gras is re-captured a bit as a locals thing? Not that no tourists would come, but if you can scale back the MTV / Playboy attraction on Bourbon Street, that might not be a bad thing.
Speaking of tourist dollars, my wife and I will be looking to spread a few around this coming Saturday. I grew up in Baton Rouge (and thankfully escaped 13 years before Katrina), so we’ll be down there for Thanksgiving, and we’re going to swing through NOLA on Saturday and see what kind of money we can spend. I’ve been back down there only once since Katrina to help salvage things from a friend’s Lakeview house and wasn’t much of anything open in the city at that time.
But my focus now is to do my part and get to NOLA as often as I can and spend, spend, spend at whatever places manage to be open. Money where your mouth is and all that. You all have a long road ahead, so if people like myself who love the city make an effort to support the places that are open, hopefully we can help out.
It is worrisome, as I think one of the comments above was getting at, that there are really very, very few hotel rooms available for tourists. We looked at coming down Friday night, but couldn’t find much of anything for under $200. So we’ll stay in Baton Rouge and just day-trip it. Most tourists wouldn’t do that; so somehow the lodging is going to have to open up and be more affordable.
Thank you Ken. More than you can imagine. We’re also spending every possible dollar we can in Orleans Parish. Even if it costs a little more, we figure we’re saving gas by not driving to Metairie or wherever.
The hotel issue will continue to be a problem, but more are opening each day — particularly along St. Charles.
I work retail currently on Upper Magazine… The past 3 Saturdays have shown that this is the general consensus. Folks from everywhere ( not just NO) are making a concerted effort to do all their Christmas shopping in Orleans parish. The business owners appreciate it more than you can possibly imagine.
Subject: My Christmas List
>
>
Thought that I would share
my Christmas List for this year..
I think it’s rather reasonable!!
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Give me a King Cake smear
Give me a beignet kiss
Give me a French Quarter morning
that looks just like this
>
Give me the Endymion Krewe
Give me the Times-Picayune
Give me a drunk and lazy crawfish boil
In muggy sticky June
>
Give me a six pack of Dixie
Give me some Abita beers
Give me a city where it only snows
Once every 10 years
>
Give me a green neutral ground
Give me a Mardi Gras Ball
Give me a medium rare burger
At my grand old Port of Call
>
Give me a glittery drag show
Give me the streetcar line
Give me the House of the Rising Sun
Give me a Tchoupitoulas sign
>
Give me a shrimp and oyster poboy
Give me lovebug season in May
Give me my New Orleans-
I will definitely stay.
>
> Pass this on to everyone
> who loves this
> beautiful city we call
> NEW ORLEANS!!!
We will be coming down for Mardi Gras with the express intention of spending as much money in local establishments as possible. And we will be back for jazz fest and any other long weekend we can muster along the way.
Is there a central place to find links to local New Orleans businesses that currently sell over the web? Compiling and publishing that list would be a good way to drive extra customers to them.
To answer my own question, here is a list of businesses operating out of NOLA that have websites where people can order gifts: http://www.keepingneworleansafloat.blogspot.com/
very good job i liked it