Mardi Gras festivities muted in New Orleans

Tourists from Brooklyn take photos on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Tourists from Brooklyn take photos on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

NEW ORLEANS -- Music blared from the courtyard of a French Quarter restaurant on Mardi Gras morning but nobody was there to hear it until Tom Gibson and Sheila Wheeler of Philadelphia walked out of their hotel's nearly empty lobby.

"We were expecting a little bit lower key than the normal Mardi Gras," Wheeler said. But empty Bourbon Street was a shock.

Coronavirus-related restrictions in New Orleans included canceled parades, closed bars and a near shutdown of rowdy Bourbon Street. That, and unusually frigid weather, prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season: streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers.

Some hardy lovers of the season braved the cold. Knots of people, some in costume and some carrying cups of coffee (sales of to-go alcohol were prohibited) wandered the French Quarter. On St. Charles Avenue, houses decked out as stationary "house floats" with giant mythical figures, circus animals or dinosaurs, drew handfuls of people snapping photographs. WDSU-TV captured a group of Mardi Gras Indians -- Black organizations that for generations have marched in brilliantly hued hand-beaded and feathered costumes -- on a brief march through one neighborhood.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cijgnYIjFYY]

But, by any measure, it was a vastly diminished Mardi Gras.

Bourbon Street was eerily quiet in contrast to past years. Police barricades sat at the end of each block and officers were told to allow access only for residents, people who work in businesses or hotel guests. The St. Charles Avenue median, usually swarming with paradegoers, was empty but for the occasional jogger or streetcar.

A group founded by the late jazz clarinet player Pete Fountain, the Half Fast Walking Club, gathered outside Commander's Palace restaurant as usual, but they did not march. The few souvenir shops that were open in the French Quarter were largely empty and workers at some restaurants eagerly motioned for passers-by to enter.

Gibson had been to Mardi Gras before, and remembered what it was like. "This whole street -- you'd hardly be able to move," he said.

To the east, Mobile, Ala., which boasts the nation's oldest Mardi Gras celebrations, also had canceled parades. The city was not locked down as tightly as New Orleans. Bars were allowed to open. But some downtown streets were shut down to allow for additional outdoor seating and more space for social distancing. Frigid temperatures that brought morning snow flurries helped keep down large crowds through early afternoon.

There was no snow in New Orleans but at 10 a.m., the temperature was 27 degrees Fahrenheit, with the wind chill making it feel like 19, National Weather Service lead meteorologist Phil Grigsby said.

Dave Lanser, trying to get into the spirit of the season, donned a luminescent green cape and a black mask with a sharp curved beak nose before heading to the quarter with a few friends.

"I'm going for the 'plague doctor' look," he said.

"It's hard to wrap my head around it," the New Orleans lawyer said as he looked up and down a nearly empty Bourbon Street.

He lamented the effect the virus restrictions were having on businesses and workers. But he said restrictions were necessary.

"I don't think there's a way to safely do it this year," he said. "So, I support canceling the parades, closing the bars, all that kind of stuff. It's just kind of the reality of it.

Information for this article was contributed by Janet McConnaughey and Jay Reeves of The Associated Press.

A police officer stands guard on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers.  (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A police officer stands guard on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bourbon Street, which is normally packed with revelers, is seen deserted during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bourbon Street, which is normally packed with revelers, is seen deserted during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A police car sits on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A police car sits on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
File - In this March 9, 2011 file photo, police on horseback and foot clear out the crowds on Bourbon Street at midnight for the end of Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. The final weekend of Mardi Gras season in New Orleans has begun with a warning from police that crowds won't be tolerated as the city fights to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Police chief Shaun Ferguson noted Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, that bars throughout the city were being ordered to close through Fat Tuesday. And he said police will man barricades limiting pedestrian traffic on Bourbon Street to people who live or work there, hotel guests, and restaurant patrons. T (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
File - In this March 9, 2011 file photo, police on horseback and foot clear out the crowds on Bourbon Street at midnight for the end of Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. The final weekend of Mardi Gras season in New Orleans has begun with a warning from police that crowds won't be tolerated as the city fights to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Police chief Shaun Ferguson noted Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, that bars throughout the city were being ordered to close through Fat Tuesday. And he said police will man barricades limiting pedestrian traffic on Bourbon Street to people who live or work there, hotel guests, and restaurant patrons. T (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
A man looks at a billboard of a closed club during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers.  (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A man looks at a billboard of a closed club during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A police officer walks down a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021.  Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers.  (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A police officer walks down a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This combination of Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, top, and Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 photos shows Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day. Between cold weather and COVID-19, morning streets were nearly empty rather than jam-packed with picnickers and parade watchers. All parades are canceled and bars throughout the city have been closed since Friday. (AP Photo/Rusty Costanza, Gerald Herbert)
This combination of Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, top, and Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 photos shows Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day. Between cold weather and COVID-19, morning streets were nearly empty rather than jam-packed with picnickers and parade watchers. All parades are canceled and bars throughout the city have been closed since Friday. (AP Photo/Rusty Costanza, Gerald Herbert)
This combination of Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, left, and Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 photos shows Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day. Between cold weather and COVID-19, morning streets were nearly empty rather than jam-packed with picnickers and parade watchers. All parades are canceled and bars throughout the city have been closed since Friday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, Rusty Costanza)
This combination of Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, left, and Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 photos shows Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day. Between cold weather and COVID-19, morning streets were nearly empty rather than jam-packed with picnickers and parade watchers. All parades are canceled and bars throughout the city have been closed since Friday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, Rusty Costanza)
People walk down a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People walk down a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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