Mardi Gras in New Orleans will happen in 2023.

There had been some concern about if the celebration would happen this year since there is a shortage of police officers in the city.

After holding a meeting this past Thursday it was decided that Mardi Gras will take place. However, the routes of several Mardi Gras parades will be shortened.

Uptown parades that usually start west of Napoleon Avenue will now start at Napoleon Avenue. None of the Uptown parades will roll on Magazine Street.

“Due to the manpower shortage we’re seeing across the country within the law enforcement community, we are going to do the exact same route that we did last year,” explained James Reiss with the advisory council.

Endymion’s route will start in Mid-City at Orleans Avenue and go to the Convention Center for their post-parade Extravaganza. Endymion will not be returning to the Superdome this year since the dome will be under renovation during the Mardi Gras festivities.

Despite knowing where the parade is starting and ending there is some confusion on how Endymion will actually get to the Convention Center since that part of the route has not been confirmed.

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While some parade-goers in New Orleans are excited that Mardi Gras is at least returning to the city some are not as excited about these changes.

“Without mardi gras, you don’t have New Orleans, you know?” added resident Cardwell Henderson. “One thing about New Orleans is we all hook up for Mardi Gras and spend time with each other.”

One krewe that is very upset about the route changes is the Krewe of Thoth.


The Krewe of Thoth has always started at the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Henry Clay. They do this so that they can pass by the Children’s Hospital and several retirement homes so the people who live in these facilities can participate in the festivities too. The Krewe of Thoth was hoping to have the original routes return this year since it is their 75th anniversary but unfortunately, that won’t be happening.

The krewes aren’t the only ones who are disappointed that they can’t return to “business as normal” for Mardi Gras 2023. There are a lot of businesses that are located on the original parade route were hoping that they would be able to make some extra business during the parades and unfortunately that is no longer an option now.

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