New Orleans sees recovery in Mardi Gras revelry
Source: Reuters
By Jeff Franks NEW ORLEANS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Dancing, drinking revelers filled the streets of New Orleans on Tuesday as parades rolled through on the final day of a Mardi Gras that locals said marked another step toward recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Thousands lined the sidewalks just blocks from neighborhoods still damaged from the Aug. 29, 2005, storm to beg for beads thrown by masked "krewe" members on passing floats as this year's Carnival season came to an end. In the French Quarter, people threw beads from balconies overlooking Bourbon Street where others jostled through crowded streets with drinks in hand. Bigger crowds appeared to have turned out for the pre-Lenten celebration that began Feb. 9 compared to last year, when the scaled back celebrations were more a show of survival. Estimates of last year's attendance ranged as high as 700,000, well below the usual 1 million. The storm flooded 80 percent of the historic city and killed more than 1,300 people when it burst surrounding levees. Many neighborhoods are still in ruins, but the French Quarter and wealthy Uptown area, located on higher ground and where tourist concentrate, were not badly damaged. On Fat Tuesday, many people wore wildly colored costumes that poked fun at local leaders who have been criticized for letting the city languish in the devastation. "FOLLOW THE RED TAPE ROAD" One group of four dressed like characters from the Wizard of Oz and carried a sign that read "Follow the Red Tape Road," in a dig at the difficulties faced by homeowners trying to get rebuilding money from Louisiana's Road Home program. Keien Davis, who played Dorothy, said the color and excess of Mardi Gras had been important for New Orleans, which still has less than half its pre-storm population of 480,000. "This has been about the unity, rebuilding and spirit of New Orleans," she said. Janet and Michael Krantz wore astronaut suits with diapers in reference to the recent troubles of love-struck NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak, who was arrested this month accused of driving across country to attack a romantic rival. Police said she wore diapers to avoid making a bathroom stop."This year has been a huge success so far, the crowds have been so amazing. The city needs it," Janet Krantz said. As is traditional, the predominantly black Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club led off the final day's festivities with a parade in which they tossed gold-painted coconuts to the crowds. Zulu was to be followed by the krewe, or social group, of Rex and its king, local doctor Ronald French. At downtown Gallier Hall, Mayor Ray Nagin saluted this year's Zulu King Larry Hammond, who decreed that New Orleanians should put aside the city's rebuilding for a day. "I further direct FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), the Louisiana Recovery Association and the Corp of Engineers to report to duty immediately and do what is necessary administratively to bring the funds that are do desperately needed to help in the reclamation of New Orleans," he said, in the day's most pointed political message. "That's my king right there," said Nagin, who has been criticized for not doing more to get the city rebuilt and who in turn has blamed federal inaction for the slow recovery. One hopeful sign was the reappearance of 76-year-old clarinetist Pete Fountain, who was back at the head of his Half-Fast Walking Club after health problems last year forced him to miss Mardi Gras for the first time in 46 years. Instead of walking, he rode in a small, tractor-towed streetcar, but threw doubloons to the crowd and played Dixieland jazz on his clarinet. "I'm back and having a good time," he told a local television station. "It's just been packed and people are really coming out. It's good to see the city starting to come back again." (Additional reporting by Elena Vega)
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