HAN20090165

INDIVISUAL ASSIGNMENT MARDI

GRAS FESTIVAL – FESTIVAL REPORT
HAN20090165 - 2010TM

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1, Introduction
2, Theming and staging
3, Impact on economy and environment
4, Impact of COVID-19
6, Conclusion
7, References

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1, Introduction
 
Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday, usually celebrated in Louisiana, New Orleans, America.
“Mardi Gras” is French for “Fat Tuesday” and can also go under the name Shrove Tuesday
(Tallant, 2007). Mardi Gras is only a Tuesday before Ash Wednesday but will be held within a
week, this festive day marks the beginning of the Christan Lent season in preparation for Easter.
It is said to be the last day for Christians to eat all the fatty and forbidden foods during Lent. This
festival originated in 1718 in France by a French colonial administrator, who then moved to
North America and brought with him the tradition. This festival was first held in New Orleans in
1837, which is almost a century after the original one in Europe (M. Volman and E.L.C. van
Wanrooij, 2019).
 
2, Theming and staging
 
The traditional Mardi Gras carnival is celebrated with three main colors of green, yellow, and
purple, along with parades, king cakes, as well as colorful clothes with costume masks.
 
a) Theming
One of the most marvelous heritages of Mardi Gras, and perhaps the most delicious is the King
cake, which is traditionally eaten on “Epiphany” or “Kings’ Day”, the 12th after Christmas. The
custom went on for centuries in Europe, then spread to New Orleans (Gaudet and McDonald,
2003). King cakes have an oval shape and a hole in the middle symbolizing the crown - unity of
beliefs. Each cake is colored according to the festival's colors, while purple represents Faith,
green represents Justice, and yellow represents Power. They also come with a tiny gold ring or a
baby charm hidden inside (Gaudet and McDonald, 2003). At holiday parties in the city, people
will cut the cake and share it among the participants. Like the story in the Bible, people always
look forward to the fun part, which is finding out who gets the piece of cake that contains the
lucky charm. Getting the piece of cake with the charm is said to be a symbol of "luck" and that
lucky person will be responsible for holding  the next festival (Stanonis and Wallace, 2018).
 
b)    Staging 
During the festival period, Mardi Gras brings a new wave to New Orleans that awakens all
corners of the city. Over the course of the nearly 10 days, people will be treated to countless
parades from the Krewes, which are considered an integral part of the festival (Mardi Gras Past
& Present | New Orleans, n.d). The parades were initiated in 1857 with about 4-6 parades, by
2004 there were about 62 parades recorded (GOTHAM, 2005). It is expected that by 2022 there
will be about 80 parades and they have had a completed parade schedule for tourists and
participants to refer to on the official website of Mardi Gras (Norah, 2021). The history of the
birth of the parade was originally by the appearance of more immigrant groups in the city, the
rapid increase in population, and the racial segregation that took place with the contradictions of
the regime society at that time. Standing on the parade float in the very first years could only be

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white people and male gender of the elite, they are secret members of the Krewes organization.
Those who appeared on the list of Krewes members will stand on the float and throw valuables
such as money and food to the people in the lower class. The parade appeared as a way of
describing the leadership of the bourgeoisie, a social order inherited in the upper classes. Since
the development of the society and the gradual reestablishment of the old social order, the people
standing on the float could be anyone, of any class, any gender and any skin color (Shrum and
Kilburn, 1996). The number of middle-class and types of objects being thrown has increased and
changed over time. However, the pattern of the parade has remained unchanged, with masked
people standing on floats and throwing strings of beads, doubloons, cups, and other old jewelry
(J. Stanonis, 2008). The main reversal of the ceremonial parade is the relationship between the
person standing on the podium throwing the items and the person taking part in the procession, it
is no longer important for roles or identities.
 
3, Impact on economy and environment
 
The annual number of Krewes as well as the amount of money invested in the event has
increased dramatically. In 2000, more than 6.1 million parade visitors and 2.24 million day
visitors stayed in the city to participate in the festival (GOTHAM, 2005). At the time, the
ceremony was considered to be even bigger than the Super Bowl event (Chacko and Marcell,
2008).  According to the University of New Orleans Hospitality Research Center (2008), in the
first month of 2005, this city is the sixth city among the top US tourism destinations in the
nationwide phone survey. Investors have been successful in their marketing program because in
2013, the city’s government recorded an increase of 3% in the number of visitors, bringing it up
to a total of 9.28 million even though the city suffered from the heavy damage of the dreadful
Hurricane Katrina event. Moreover, out of 75% of feedback from travelers is positive (New
Orleans Achieves 9.28 Million Visitors in 2013, 2014). In 2017, New Orleans broke records
when they had 17.74 million of annual visitors as reported by D.K. Shifflet & Associates (New
Orleans Tourism Visitation and Visitor Spending Break Records in 2017, 2018). Based on the
huge numbers above, Mardi Gras must-have provided the city of New Orleans with significant
economic benefits. According to WalletHub’s analysis, Mardi Gras brings more than 1 billion to
the city each year based on the number of tourists arriving at the city and the amount of money
consumed by tourists for food, drinks, accommodation, etc. (Bushell, 2021; MARDI GRAS
PAST AND PRESENT Traditions from the past that live on today, n.d.).
 
Besides the outstanding advantages that Mardi Gras contributed to the city economic-wise, there
are also some detrimental impacts that may concern organizers. Since the beginning of string
beads, it has inadvertently polluted the city as the only things left on the roads at the end of the
festivals  are garbage and scattered objects. According to Heneghan (2015), about 25 million
pounds of beads are transferred each year but less than 2% of them are recycled. This  harms the
environment since the materials of beads are biologically incorruptible. Beads being thrown on

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Mardi Gras not only badly affect the environment but also have a huge amount of toxic
chemicals which can cause many dangerous health problems (Heneghan, 2015).
 
4, Marketing and sponsorship
 
Starting in the 1857s, the nature of the festival gradually changed, formerly Mardi Gras was held
as a rather indigenous celebration for the locals without the involvement of market exchanges,
cultural circulation, or the circulation of money. However, over time, tourism entrepreneurs as
well as governments with the desire to develop the city, and increase income from the city's
tourism industry, want to promote the city by actively creating marketing strategies (Gotham,
2002). In the interest of the huge profits that this festival brings to the city’s tourism and the
organizer, investors have created countless Marketing Strategies. The city's investors began to
create a "multimillion-dollar market": museums, produce books, festival-themed souvenirs,
jewelry, hats, toys, beverages, and many more (Gotham, 2005). Mardi Gras gradually becomes a
major tourism-oriented strategy targeting all ages of tourists visiting the city. According to
Fletcher, Fyall, Gilbert and Wanhill (2018, p.146) “Tourism is a business and what we are doing
when we sell tourists our services are exchanging some of our environment and culture in return
for foreign exchange earnings (when it is international tourism), tax revenue, income and jobs.”.
This trend makes citizens believe that it will lead to a devaluation for the city (Gotham, 2002)
Mardi Gras is a rather special festival with no sponsorship, alternatively, there are members of a
non-profit organization that gathers together every year and self-funding. The festival and parade
are funded by secret members of the non-profit organization. The city will not be involved in any
payment of the festival (History FAQs | Mardi Gras New Orleans, n.d.).
 
5, Impact of COVID-19
 
In 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in the US and New Orleans was one of the cities
with the highest number of infections, reaching more than 50,000 cases (Woodfruff, 2021). The
festive season has brought the city of New Orleans over 1.4 million tourists and with it the
coronavirus. After the carnival period, the state of Louisiana became the center of the epidemic,
and unfortunately, Mardi Gras was the most populous event in the United States at the time of
the epidemic (Davis, Rose-Davison and Smith, 2020). This raises the question if Mardi Gras was
the cause of the covid outbreak in Louisiana. However, a new report proved that Mardi Gras was
held a month before the outbreak of the disease in New Orleans, so this festival was not the
cause of the outbreak (Woodfruff, 2021). 
By 2021, the Mardi Gras festival has been canceled due to Covid and it can only be held in the
city with local people and they must wear masks and complete epidemic prevention activities
according to the COVID-19’s regulations (Mardi Gras 2021, 2010; New Orleans celebrates a
muted Mardi Gras—but the rituals remain, n.d.).
 
6, Conclusion

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Mardi Gras started as a traditional festival, after the effects of society, tradition, tourism, and
economy it gradually became the largest festival in Louisiana. The festival has brought the city
of New Orleans a lot of benefits, opportunities, and integration,  it has also become an integral
part of the city and its people. However, New Orleans has faced several cultural and
environmental negative influences, such as the deterioration of the meaning of the festival,
environmental impact as well as external factors such as epidemics. “The larger the event and the
higher its profile, the greater is the potential for things to go wrong, thus generating negative
impacts.” (Allen, O'Toole, McDonnell and Harris, 2021). Organized initially as a religious
holiday but increasingly, Mardi Gras has become an excuse for party and drunkenness instead of
the true meaning of a Fat Tuesday.  After the Covid epidemic, New Orleans is already slowly
recovering and the Mardi Gras festival in 2022 has been planned and the festival has returned
annually. Fortunately, these problems can be solved if residents and the government co-operate
to put the preservation of the festival’s qualities first. The city can cut down the number of
plastic beads and raise public awareness about the impact of these plastic strings on  human
health and the environment, and make recommendations and laws to reduce the deconstruction
of the festival caused by alcohol and the uncontrollable extremism of participants (Borunda,
2019).

  

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Words count: 1618 words ( not included intext citation, references, content table, report’s
name, page number and headings).

7, References

Allen, J., O'Toole, W., McDonnell, I. and Harris, R., 2021. Festival & special event
management. 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons Autrialia, Ltd, p.62.

Borunda, A., 2019. Rethinking Mardi Gras—without tons of plastic beads. [online]
Environment. Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/rethink-
mardi-gras-without-plastic-beads?fbclid=IwAR069Vg8wprP2Y_-
thFIRQVtXdXQ87RdbTmId8Rl_eUqOpoLgJ6TCIc4qno> [Accessed 16 June 2021].

Bushell, K., 2021. The economics of Mardi Gras. [online] ViaNolaVie. Available at:
<https://www.vianolavie.org/2021/02/12/alternative-journalism-fall-2020-the-economics-of-
mardi-gras/> [Accessed 16 June 2021].

Chacko, H. and Marcell, M., 2008. Repositioning a Tourism Destination. Journal of Travel &
Tourism Marketing, 23(2-4), pp.223-235.

Culture. n.d. New Orleans celebrates a muted Mardi Gras—but the rituals remain. [online]
Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/new-orleans-celebrates-
muted-mardi-gras-rituals-remain> [Accessed 17 June 2021].

Davis, S., Rose-Davison, K. and Smith, D., 2020. Hurricane Katrina at 15: Introduction to the
Special Section. American Journal of Public Health, 110(10), pp.1461-1462.

Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D. and Wanhill, S., 2018. Tourism: Principles and Practice. 6th
ed. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited, p.146.

Gaudet, M. and McDonald, J., 2003. Mardi Gras, gumbo, and zydeco. Jackson, Miss.: University
Press of Mississippi, pp.48-49.

Gaudet, M. and McDonald, J., 2003. Mardi Gras, gumbo, and zydeco. Jackson, Miss.: University
Press of Mississippi, pp.53-54.

Gotham, K., 2002. Marketing Mardi Gras: Commodification, Spectacle and the Political
Economy of Tourism in New Orleans. Urban Studies, 39(10), pp.1735-1756.

GOTHAM, K., 2005. Tourism from Above and Below: Globalization, Localization and New
Orleans's Mardi Gras. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 29(2), pp.309-326.

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Heneghan, C., 2015. Can Mardi Gras Go Green?. [online] Earth Island Journal. Available at:
<https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/can_mardi_gras_go_green/?
fbclid=IwAR0GFWE5OtX1r4JUshhDyEghXEE7KRtr2d3B9_1AAX1wugqhf6SV_id1t8Q>
[Accessed 14 June 2021].

HISTORY. 2010. Mardi Gras 2021. [online] Available at:

<https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mardi-gras> [Accessed 12 June 2021].

J. Stanonis, A., 2008. Through a Purple (Green and Gold) Haze: New Orleans Mardi Gras in the
American Imagination. Southern Cultures, 14(2), p.122.
Neworleans.com. 2018. New Orleans Tourism Visitation and Visitor Spending Break Records in
2017. [online] Available at: <https://www.neworleans.com/articles/post/new-orleans-tourism-
visitation-and-visitor-spending-break-records-in-2017/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

Neworleans.com. 2014. New Orleans Achieves 9.28 Million Visitors in 2013. [online] Available
at: <https://www.neworleans.com/articles/post/new-orleans-achieves-928-million-visitors-in-
2013/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

Neworleans.com. n.d. Mardi Gras Past & Present | New Orleans. [online] Available at:
<https://www.neworleans.com/events/holidays-seasonal/mardi-gras/history-and-traditions/past-
and-present/> [Accessed 14 June 2021].

Norah, L., 2021. Mardi Gras 2022 in New Orleans - A Full Guide - Finding the Universe.
[online] Finding the Universe. Available at: <https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/visiting-new-
orleans-during-mardi-gras/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

Shrum, W. and Kilburn, J., 1996. Ritual Disrobement at Mardi Gras: Ceremonial Exchange and
Moral Order. Social Forces, 75(2), p.423.

Tallant, R., 2007. Mardi gras-- as it was. 6th ed. Gretna, La.: Pelican, p.8.
M. Volman, H. and E.L.C. van Wanrooij, Y., 2019. Making Mardi Gras: the Celebration and
Experience Of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. [online] Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Theses, p.5. Available at: <https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/382942> [Accessed 17 June
2021].

Woodfruff, E., 2021. Mardi Gras 2020 spawned up to 50K coronavirus cases, likely from a
single source, study says. [online] NOLA.com. Available at:
<https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_e4095910-6af1-11eb-a3bc-
336456794a5b.html> [Accessed 17 June 2021].