Bourbon Street sits empty for Mardi Gras as parades are canceled

Record ID: 1601623

  • Title: Bourbon Street sits empty for Mardi Gras as parades are canceled
  • Date: 16th February 2021
  • Summary: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 16, 2021) (REUTERS) EMPTY STREET IN FRENCH QUARTER ON FAT TUESDAY EMPTY BOURBON STREET POLICE CAR BLOCKING STREET SIGN READING: 'NOPD (NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT)/ POLICE LINE/ DO NOT CROSS' POLICE VEHICLE BLOCKING EMPTY BOURBON STREET EMPTY SHOPS ON BOURBON STREET EMPTY BOURBON STREET WITH POLICE GATE AND CAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) KELLY SCHULZ, NEW ORLEANS & COMPANY SPOKESPERSON, SAYING: "We are trying to be festive and celebrate Mardi Gras in new and unique ways that will keep everyone safe. The biggest difference this year is that you won't see Mardi Gras parades and floats like this one parading through the streets. But New Orleans people are very creative, they're very resilient, they're trying to find new ways to celebrate. For example, decorating their houses to look like Mardi Gras floats, if you can believe that." EMPTY STREET EMPTY BOURBON STREET WITH POLICE CAR BLOCKING STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) J.P. PHILLIPS (OF NEW ORLEANS) AND AILEEN PHILLIPS (OF BROOKLYN, NY) SAYING: "It's unlike anyone (Mardi Gras) I've seen before and I was here after Hurricane Katrina and this is emptier than after Hurricane Katrina. This is so surreal seeing everything like this. But we're going to celebrate it anyway." AILEEN: "Everybody's being safe." J.P.: "Everybody's social distancing and being safe and we're going to say hi to a couple of friends, but we'll probably have an early night, where usually Mardi Gras we stayed out until midnight." STREET GRAFFITI READING 'MASK UP OR GO DOWN' WITH SKELETONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) TREVOR SMITH, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT, SAYING: "I think ultimately it's probably the right thing to do, although, you know, it's a little sad. But we will persevere. Life will go on. Next year, another bud will bloom." EMPTY BOURBON STREET SIGNS ON SHOP READING 'HAVE A FUN AND SAFE MARDI GRAS! / TO GO DRINKS ARE PROHIBITED' (SOUNDBITE) (English) HOLLY FRANKLIN, PARAGOULD, ARKANSAS RESIDENT, SAYING: "It's been a little depressing. We didn't know about the ban until we actually got in town." SIGN HANGING FROM DOOR READING 'KN95 MASKS AVAILABLE' (SOUNDBITE) (English) KELLY SCHULZ, NEW ORLEANS & COMPANY SPOKESPERSON, SAYING: "The city is open right now, so hotels and restaurants and shops are open. Bars are going to be re-opening later this week. So people can come to visit New Orleans right now. But in terms of the large crowds, like Mardi Gras, like our festival season, things are going to start to pick up in the summer. This fall, we have Jazz Fest and French Quarter Fest, which are two festivals that typically happen in the spring. So we are optimistic. As more and more travelers get vaccinated, as they feel comfortable returning to the city, we're going to start to do what we love the most, which is welcoming those larger crowds." COUPLE WALKING DOWN STREET SIGN READING 'MARDI GRAS 2021/ CLOSED TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY OF THE CITIZENS OF NEW ORLEANS/ SEE YOU ON MARCH 1, 2022'
  • Embargoed: 2nd March 2021 23:38
  • Keywords: Bourbon Street Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras cancellation coronavirus pandemic
  • Location: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001DZWA7GN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The decadent revelry of Mardi Gras is going silent in New Orleans this year, as officials canceled the city's parades, famous for their colorful floats and hedonistic ambiance.
    In a typical year, party-goers would have filled the streets for Fat Tuesday, drinking from the balconies of the bars that line Bourbon Street and catching beads thrown from floats. But this year, the city has canceled the floats because of the coronavirus pandemic.
    While hotels and restaurants are open, bars throughout the city have been closed and restaurants within the French Quarter do not allow to-go drinks, adding to the somber atmosphere.
    New Orleans spokesperson Kelly Schulz said safety is the city's top priority.
    "We are trying to be festive and celebrate Mardi Gras in new and unique ways that will keep everyone safe. The biggest difference this year is that you won't see Mardi Gras parades and floats like this one parading through the streets. But New Orleans people are very creative, they're very resilient, they're trying to find new ways to celebrate," she said.
    New Orleans emerged as one of the early U.S. hot spots for the coronavirus, with a high death rate that public health officials blamed on the city's higher than average incidence of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
    The New Orleans metropolitan statistical area ranks among the worst in the United States for the percentage of residents with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, a Reuters analysis of CDC data shows. An estimated 39% have high blood pressure, 36% are obese and about 15% have diabetes.
    City officials want to take no chances on a resurgence, even if it disappoints tourists and would-be revelers.
    "It's unlike anyone (Mardi Gras) I've seen before and I was here after Hurricane Katrina and this is emptier than after Hurricane Katrina. This is so surreal seeing everything like this," said J.P. Phillips, a local resident.
    Instead, some residents are decorating their houses and enjoying a festive evening at home.
    "I think ultimately it's probably the right thing to do although you know, it's a little sad, but we will persevere. Life will go on. Next year, another bud will bloom," said Trevor Smith.
    (Production: Arlene Eiras, Kevin Fogarty)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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