Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is the last day before Ash Wednesday, and its basically a big huge party to do as much as you can before giving up bad habits for lent. In New Orleans, Krewes roll in parades and throw beads off the side of the floats. Usually, there are bass brands from local high schools that march as well. Flambeaux are people who carry these torch kinda things in the parade. Parades start up as early as a month or two before Mardi Gras, and the earlier ones are usually more family-friendly and happen on weekends. Some Krewes have more coveted throws like the Muses shoes or Zulu coconuts (both of which my family and I caught when we went a few years ago B) )
My dad is from New Orleans so I grew up celebrating this within my family, but we live in Texas and have only been able to go back for Mardi Gras once (it was the best) so I included two pictures from our trip in 2020 and one from a party I threw for my friends back in TX a few months ago :)
