Feb. 13, 2024 09:30 AM EST

Ap Photos: A Look At Mardi Gras Festivities In New Orleans Through The Years

By CHEVEL JOHNSON and DARIO LOPEZ
Associated Press
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson, center, are escorted around the floor at the ball of Rex by two members of the organization in New Orleans, Louisiana on Feb. 21, 1950. Guests applaud the royal British couple who were making their first appearance at a Mardi Gras ball. (AP Photo, file) DT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson, center, are escorted around the floor at the ball of Rex by two members of the organization in New Orleans, Louisiana on Feb. 21, 1950. Guests applaud the royal British couple who were making their first appearance at a Mardi Gras ball. (AP Photo, file)
Carnival Chief Choctaw, Stanley L. Sutherland and Princess Pamela Peres wave their tomahawks as they pass under the Mississippi River bridge at New Orleans, Jan. 28, 1967 aboard the Navy Reserve training destroyer USS Hyman. Also getting into the waving act is Seaman Gerald Glatt of Chicago, Ill., who is on two weeks active duty in New Orleans. The Krewe of Choctaw is the first of eleven days of parades before Mardi Gras Day on February 7. (AP Photo/Jack Thornell, file)
Marti and Rochelle Martin hold on to their flashy headgear as they cross Canal Street in New Orleans on a windy damp day, March 6, 1973. The Inca costumes, which aren't anything unusual on Mardi Gras were designed and made by the Martins for less than $40. (AP Photo, file)
A general view of "Rex", king of the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade, leads the way through thousands of revelers packed in the streets, March 6, 1946. The float is about to turn from St. Charles Avenue into Canal Street. (AP Photo,file)
The krewe of Zulu parade rolls down St. Charles Ave. and turns onto Canal St., Feb. 20, 1996, in New Orleans. The New Orleans Police estimate crowds to be over one million in the area at the end of the Mardi Gras season. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Carnival season comes to a close Tuesday with thousands of people expected to crowd the streets of New Orleans and surrounding communities for the annual Mardi Gras celebration complete with parade floats, neighborhood street parties and jammed restaurants and bars in the old French Quarter.

The Rex Organization, founded in the 19th century, rolls every Fat Tuesday, with the role of Rex, King of Carnival, filled each year by a different local dignitary. The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, founded by Black laborers in the early 1900s, also rolls Tuesday. The major carnival clubs — also known as krewes — typically culminate their rides with a black-tie affair or hold such an event as a precursor to their trip through the city's streets.

Actor Kevin Dillon, reigning as king of the Krewe of Bacchus, rolled Sunday amid muggy temperatures and an overcast sky. Previous kings include actors William Shatner, John Ritter and Billy Crystal.

Chilly temperatures and some strong winds were forecast for Tuesday's rides — nothing that should stop the party or screaming throngs of costumed people clamoring for the coveted “throws," large and small brightly colored plastic bead necklaces and other trinkets such as stuffed animals, plastic cups and hula hoops.

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