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New Orleans Mardi Gras

February 18, 2012 by · Comments Off on New Orleans Mardi Gras 

New Orleans Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras. It brings to mind beads, parties and fancy floats in New Orleans as people cram in all the fun they can before the austere religious period known as Lent begins.

In reality, Mardi Gras has long been celebrated in U.S. coastal towns from Texas to Florida. And it means big business.

“It is more of a regional thing, Mardi Gras is,” said Stephen Toomey, whose family started a chain of Alabama-based Mardi Gras party supply stores.

“It means a way of life for people who live in these communities, but the bottom line is that it creates a lot of jobs.”

Tourism leaders estimate more than 1 million visitors pour into the Mobile, Alabama, area each Mardi Gras season to watch the festivities. The city claims to be the place where the Fat Tuesday celebration originated in the U.S. in the early 1700s.

New Orleans and Mobile have long disputed where the tradition that dates to their French founders really began.

The celebration can stretch weeks and includes dozens of parades, balls and other events.

A 2004 study commissioned by the city of Mobile estimated Mardi Gras had a $225 million economic impact for the area, and tourism leaders say that has grown as the festivities become more popular.

“I would say tens of thousands of dollars are spent on the different beads and throws and things that are thrown off the floats. It really benefits every kind of retailer and the tourism industry,” said David Randel, president of the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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