New Orleans’ Carnival season marks Fat Tuesday with celebrities and pretend monarchs

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mardi Gras celebrations are in full swing in New Orleans. Major parades began Tuesday morning (Feb. 13, 2024) with the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club rolling down St. Charles Avenue. Members handed out the organization’s signature gifts of hand-decorated coconuts to adults and children. Another highly anticipated parade is the procession of Rex, King of Carnival. It was set to roll later in the morning. Parade fans lined major thoroughfares and revelers gathered on the narrow streets of the raucous French Quarter. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the final day of festivities before Ash Wednesday and the solemnity of Lent.