MediaBuys Article

As Mardi Gras approaches, New Orleans struggles with how to celebrate

January 22, 2006

By Mario Villafuerte

NEW ORLEANS -- Despite hurricanes, devastating flooding and controversy, New Orleans officials are preparing to roll out the 150th annual Mardi Gras in February.

There are questions, though, about the city's recovery and the correct method to achieve its renewal. One heard most often is, "Why celebrate Mardi Gras now?"

Proponents of going forward with the annual celebration say Mardi Gras has generated tens of millions of dollars for the city and its businesses and represents the spirit of the city's rebirth. Opponents, though, say now is not the time to practice the phrase, "Laissez les bons temp rouler" (Let the good times roll), when vast areas of the city remain uninhabitable. Moreover, they say, thousands of former residents are scattered across the nation with little hope of returning.

"Mardi Gras is in our souls. It's a cultural thing, a feeling, a tradition. It's many things that Hurricane Katrina could not take away from us," said Kim Priez, vice president of tourism at the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Speaking before a group of travel writers touring New Orleans, Priez extolled Mardi Gras' intangible benefits to the city. The tour was sponsored by the Louisiana Office of Cultural, Recreation and Tourism.

"This Mardi Gras is part of our recovery. (This year) is going to be about rebuilding and renewing, and we are looking forward to it," she said. "What we're telling visitors is that New Orleans is open for business."

Priez, the mother of a 13-year-old son, lost her home in the flooding and was displaced for many weeks before returning to a destroyed neighborhood. She says doesn't feel bad about promoting Mardi Gras, noting that her family's survival, and the survival of other families, depends on the success of the city's tourism. Tourism is at the center of the city's economic engine. An estimated $1.5 billion is generated by Mardi Gras and thousands of jobs are created for the traditional two-week celebration, according to a University of New Orleans 2000 economic study.

In 2005, Mardi Gras attracted 1 million pleasure seekers on the last weekend of the carnival season. Before Hurricane Katrina, there were 38,000 hotel rooms available. Current room numbers have sunk to 10,000, Priez said.

While the celebrations will go on, there will be changes. The traditional 12 days of parading has been shortened to eight days, along with a reduced number of krewes marching in Orleans Parish. The routes for some parades have been adjusted, but the traditional St. Charles Avenue parade will continue on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28. Parades will be limited to eight hours to cut the amount of overtime paid to police and other municipal employees. Surrounding parishes, except St. Bernard, also will roll their parades.

Dollars spent on krewes, floats, dancers, beads, cups and other items are not public money. They comes from the pockets of those Mardi Gras participants. Even so, there are public expenses.

To help pay those, the city of New Orleans recently hired a Los Angeles advertising firm to solicit corporate sponsorships to offset the logistical costs of police, fire, sanitation and other municipal services that in the past the city could afford.

"Some people will clearly see the value in sponsorship for a variety of reasons, least of which is helping in the recovery effort," said Ken Rose, vice president of business development for the MediaBuys ad firm. "We have in excess of 50 companies who are looking for various opportunities." Sponsorships range from $5,000 to $ 2 million, which would make the buyer an official sponsor, something that has never happened in the 150 years of parading. Ludacris, Taye Diggs and John Leguizamo are among 18 entertainers scheduled to promote this year's Mardi Gras via newspapers, Web sites and television.

Efforts to limit the public expenses, however, have not satisfied opponents. "It's too much of a party thing and it's not a party situation because a lot of people are still left homeless," said Helen Pierce, who has been displaced from her New Orleans home since September. Pierce, the mother of three children, is living at a shelter in Shreveport. She wants to return to New Orleans, but her upstairs apartment is uninhabitable.

"I never imagined in a million years that a storm would hit my city that hard. We had been spared so may times," said Pierce, who visited New Orleans in October. She is not opposed to Mardi Gras, describing it as a "beautiful time of the year for everyone," but the priorities of New Orleans city leaders are misplaced, Pierce said. Money being spent on Mardi Gras should be reallocated to created housing and long-term employment opportunities.

"That should be the main issue," she said.