With high winds forecast for Fat Tuesday morning and parade cancellations in neighboring Jefferson Parish, New Orleans is on pins and needles awaiting word if Mardi Gras 2025 will proceed as usual tomorrow.
UPDATE at 4:30 p.m.: New Orleans police consider canceling Zulu, Rex parades due to weather. Here's what we know.
But as of 9 a.m. on Monday, the Zulu and Rex parades are set to roll.
“It’s not up to us,” said Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club director of public relations Darren Mire. The New Orleans Police Department and possibly other agencies such as Homeland Security will be involved in any such decision, he said.
“We’re keeping our ears to the ground,” Mire said, “but right now we’re loading floats for tomorrow morning.”
Zulu president Judge Elroy James said that hopefully the worst of the weather will pass later in the day and the parade will be finished in time to avoid any interference. “If we have to start early, we will,” he said.
There are no plans to streamline the parade at this time, James said.
The Zulu parade makes its way through the streets of New Orleans on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune)
Rex ready to roll
Rex spokesman Ben Dupuy said that the King of Carnival is also ready to parade as planned. “As of now, we’re full steam ahead,” Dupuy said.
“If anything changes, there will be an announcement,” Dupuy said, explaining that any decisions will be made in coordination with the New Orleans Police Department superintendent.
The Captain of Rex is in communication with the President of the Zulu parade, Dupuy said.
The Zulu and Rex parades are the climax of the Carnival parading season.
The Zulu parade starts at 8 a.m. on March 4 and follows a unique route from Central City, through the Central Business District, into Treme.
The Rex parade starts at 10:30 a.m. on March 4 and follows the Uptown route, starting at Napoleon Avenue at S. Claiborne Avenue.
