A look at Louisiana's Mardi Gras festivities through the years

After a weekslong pre-Lenten bash — complete with elaborate parades that meander through New Orleans, shimmery beads tossed from floats, streets lined with costumed revelers, lavish balls and seafood boils — Louisiana's 2025 Carnival Season is approaching its grand conclusion.

Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, which takes place March 4, marks the party’s climax and the end of Carnival Season on the Gulf Coast. The conclusion falls the day before Ash Wednesday and is seen as a final day of feasting and revelry before the solemnity of Lent.

Each year, along with Louisiana residents, more than a million visitors travel to New Orleans to partake in the city's world-famous Carnival celebrations.

The bash includes feasting, drinking and a plethora of parades. Many spend their time along parade routes, with their hands raised in the air to catch “throws” — trinkets tossed to spectators by float riders and walking members of carnival clubs known as krewes.

While throws include plastic beads, candy, stuffed animals, cups and toys, there are also the more coveted items such as painted coconuts, hand-decorated shoes and bedazzled toilet plungers.

The annual jollification is not limited to the Big Easy. Similar celebrations are held across Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast. Mobile, Alabama, lays claim to the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration. And other lavish Carnival celebrations in Brazil and Europe are world-renowned.