‘I love Mardi Gras’: Carnival spirit takes over New Orleans

By REBECCA SANTANA and JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Party-minded people dressed in traditional purple, green and gold filled New Orleans’ streets for the city’s first full-dress Mardi Gras since the coronavirus pandemic began. Fewer people appeared to wear politically themed homemade costumes during the celebrations Tuesday. Those who did tended to support Ukraine. Jamie Dell’Apa and Bob Ray, both of New Orleans, wore hooded paper coveralls painted the blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag and decked with blown-up blue and yellow gloves on which they had written “Russian Covid 22.” But Mardi Gras colors predominated after a year when parades and large gatherings were canceled because of COVID-19.