Masking was a competitive business in the 1920 and '30s, when Carnival contests gave winners cash, merchandise, and even gold bullion as prizes.

Fat Tuesday, which is Mardi Gras Day, marks the last day of Carnival Season, and this day falls on March 4 this year. This means that the weekend when the major New Orleans Mardi Gras parades will be taking place is on the last weekend of February ...

Fat Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent, is celebrated as Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Brazil, but you don’t need to travel to get a taste of the fun.

Parades in New Orleans, and all across South Louisiana, celebrating Mardi Gras first started on Twelfth Night, which was on Jan. 6. However, the biggest parades this Mardi Gras season will be during the last weekend of February, from Feb. 28 to March 2.

After a brief post- Super Bowl breather, an intense security presence will return to the streets and skies of New Orleans, as helicopters, drones, bomb-sniffing dogs, SWAT