Uncertainty looms over whether Mardi Gras in Mobile and New Orleans occurs in February as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hamper the outlook of hosting large gatherings.
Officials in both cities are echoing a similar statement: It will be unlike any Carnival that has occurred in generations.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, in a letter issued Friday, urged all Mardi Gras societies to start considering alternatives to traditional parades that roll for more than two weeks before Fat Tuesday, which will take place on Feb. 16. He said that “the closer we get to January 1,” the more certainty there will be to announcing, “accurate parading plans.”
“For now, I ask that you think about creative outdoor alternatives to a traditional parade and large, dense crowd format,” Stimpson said in the letter. “Let your imagination be your guide. As December approaches, the city will be glad to review your suggestions on how they might roll.”
Stimpson also said that ASM Global, the company that manages the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center and the Mobile Civic Center – the two downtown venues that host the majority of Mobile’s Mardi Gras balls – will mail out a letter on September 9 listing guidelines the company will be operating under to comply with current State Health Orders. Stimpson said the company’s projections “could be looked upon as a worst-case scenario.”
“Once you receive your letter from ASM, you will have greater clarity with which to start narrowing down your true options,” said Stimpson. He said the city has heard a variety of responses from mystic societies that range from using a different venue to not having a ball in 2021.
Caution is already starting to emerge. In Mobile, at least three Mardi Gras societies – including the city’s largest LGBTQ mystic society, Order of Osiris – have canceled their elaborate balls for 2021. The Osiris event draws over 2,000 people each year to the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
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Health experts have warned for months of large gatherings as potential hot spots for new coronavirus outbreaks. Sporting events, concerts and festivals have been canceled throughout the spring and summer months out of worries over a large super-spreader outbreak occurring among people standing close together. The virus, according to public health officials, spreads primarily through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, and spreads easily by people who are standing in close (within 6 feet) proximity of each other.
In New Orleans, a mayor’s advisory committee has been assembled to come up with recommendations on how to hold Mardi Gras safely during coronavirus. According to media reports, the committee met earlier this month and pushed forward with Mardi Gras plans. Massive krewes, like Endymion, are moving forward with their plans on holding a parade in 2021.
Louisiana state and local leaders in New Orleans will determine whether Mardi Gras happens. In April, while cities were under strict “stay-at-home” orders, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was quoted as say that canceling Carnival was a possibility.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April, Mardi Gras likely accelerated the spread of coronavirus in Louisiana in March and April. New Orleans was among the earliest hot spots for the virus where over 20,000 people were infected within the first month of the pandemic. Mardi Gras Day occurred on February 25; less than three weeks before widespread government restrictions started in response to the growing virus threat.
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August 31, 2020 at 06:48PM
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Mobile mayor on Mardi Gras planning: Consider ’creative outdoor alternatives’ to traditional parades - AL.com
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