Making People Happy by Throwing Thousands of Dollars Away

By: NOLA Celeste

It’s that time of year again when tens of thousands of New Orleanians don sequined sateen costumes in garish colors and board moving platforms of light that are sometimes satirical and other times merely decorative.

Most visitors associate the festivities with Bourbon Street, balconies, boobies and beads, but that could be farther from the truth. The real action is Uptown on the oak tree- and mansion-lined St. Charles Avenue, where families and friends pitch tents, set up folding chairs, plop children in spectator boxes perched on top of ladders and wait. The wait is pleasant. Time is often passed munching on cotton candy and peanuts from street vendors, sipping daiquiris from mobile libation providers and throwing “poppers” on the ground.

At the beginning of the route, the service providers climb narrow steps and squeeze themselves between bags of beads and their fellow revelers. Once they are done, their arms are tired from repetitive motion and their shins hurt from constantly bracing themselves from falling.

It typically costs over a thousand dollars to ride in a parade. The fees go towards dues, the ball scheduled for afterwards and throws. The bulk of the cost is allocated to throws – plastic beads, plush toys and, in the case of my parade, the Krewe of Muses, shoe bracelets, manicure sets and handbags.

The capacity for making people happy by throwing them a cheap toy is unparalleled. You make eye contact with someone in the crowd, their face lights up, they catch your throw and perhaps mouth a “thank you.” Wash . . . rinse . . . repeat.

By the time the parade is done, you literally have thrown thousands of Dollars away. But, it is worth it for the thrill.

It’s all part of the magic that is Mardi Gras.




Tag: New Orleans Mardi Gras