Locals with all their accoutrements. Photo: Corey Ann, Feature Photo: Hoggheff aka Hank Ashby aka Mr. Freshtags

Mardi Gras may be about indulgence and debauchery, but you’ve got to be serious about your preparations. Die hard revelers actually sleep next to the parade route overnight or bring their frat buddy’s beat-up couch out to the median. This isn’t entirely necessary, but you should still get out to the route early to avoid some traffic and to secure a good spot. Use a tarp or blanket to stake out your space.

Mardi Gras Revelers Smile for the Camera.
Photo: Bengt E Nyman

Wear your walking shoes. Mardi Gras parades—unless they’re very small—inevitably involve a hike from your car or hotel to the parade route. You’ll probably be standing for long periods of time, so that’s another reason to make sure you’ve got good footwear.

You’ll want good shoes to protect your feet from the inevitable broken glass, spilled beer, and unidentifiable liquids that accumulate on the streets.

You’re not going to be happy if you have to walk a mile with your arms full of stuff. But an ice chest and folding chairs with wheels, or devise a method of rolling them. Many parade-goers also wheel ladders to the route so they can see over the crowds standing on the ground and catch beads more easily. Cup holders on items like chairs, ice chests, even ladders are clutch.

Beads, trinkets, plastic cups, and more fly off of floats during Mardi Gras parades. Take a handful of sturdy bags with you to put everything in, and you might want to consider bringing a wagon to help you get everything home once the parades are over. If you run out of bags, get a grip and remember: beads might be shiny, but they’re just pieces of plastic.

Doubloons depicting Willie Nelson and Michael Keaton.
Photo: howieluvzus

Some parades throw custom doubloons, shiny metallic trinkets that, for whatever reason, are a popular throw. Should you see one on the ground, do not, under any circumstances, reach for it with your bare hands. The locals step on doubloons and other coveted objects if they hit the ground as a quick way to claim them for themselves.

Putting your hand on the ground to pick something up that you haven’t stepped on first is a good way to lose a finger.

Late winter/early spring means unpredictable weather for the U.S. Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras can be wet and cloudy, hot and humid, cold and windy, or all three. If you’re coming in from out of town, bring layers and check the weather before you head out to a parade. You should wear sunscreen even if it’s cloudy.

New Orleans at Night during Marti Gras.
Photo: Larry Johnson

If you’re standing outside all day, you’re going to need to eat and drink. Parades can be very lengthy events, and there’s not always easy access to restaurants. Plus, Mardi Gras is a celebration of indulgence; what would it be without rich food and copious alcohol?

Mardi Gras is so notorious for bathroom emergencies that New Orleans band Benny Grunch and the Bunch wrote a song about it called “Ain’t No Place to Pee on Mardi Gras Day,” which is funny ’til it happens to you.

Hitch your wagon to a clown. Photo: Infrogmation

Parade routes may have port-o-potties, but the lines will be extremely long so you should come up with a contingency plan ahead of time. Creative solutions range from building a makeshift bathroom in your truck bed to bringing a tent and a bucket. With that in mind, you should probably bring some hand sanitizer, too.

Mardi Gras day is a great excuse to act like a kid – or an idiot. Costumes are an acceptable way to get in the spirit, especially if you coordinate as a group and reference local or national politics/events/culture. Ironic cross-dressing is also popular.

Community Connection

Wanna know what’s sweet to eat at Mardi Gras? Pop over to MatadorAbroad to drool over Indulgence in New Orleans: A Guide to 7 Classic Desserts.

Seattle’s International District: Ken Lund

Enjoying Bubble Tea at Oasis Tea Zone: Special*Dark

Ah, bubble tea. At the Oasis Tea Zone, you can chose from a wide range of flavors for this popular Asian drink including coffee to Thai tea to lychee. Order it as a slushy or get it more on the milky side, but don’t forget to ask for the squishy tapioca pearls.

519 6th Ave S, #120, Seattle, 98104, 206-447-8098

The Real Pho from Green Leaf: mahalie

There’s a lot on the menu at Green Leaf, but pho is the way to go. On dreary winter days, there’s nothing like slurping down this hot Vietnamese noodle soup.

The broth comes in a huge bowl with noodles and your choice of meat. Also choose from cold and crunchy cilantro and bean sprouts, and flavor enhancers like basil and lime. Start off with some fresh spring rolls and you’ll soon forget the rain has long since turned you into a prune.

418 – 8th Ave. S, Seattle, 98104, 206-340-1388
www.greenleaftaste.com

It’s not great food, but for under $5 you’ll get a pot of tea, a cup of soup, and some deep-fried, sugar-coated, Chinese-American food over white rice at Ga Ga Loc. The menu is small but includes standards like sweet and sour chicken. Good enough for lunch, the service is always great, and you’ll leave full.

424 Maynard Ave. S, Seattle, 98104, 206-521-8933

A sushi selection from Maneki: pixie_bebe

You have to plan ahead for dinner at Maneki, but it’s worth the finagling. It’s been around since 1904 which means it survived Japanese internment. These folks know what they’re doing.

How many restaurants can say one of their dishwashers later became the 66th prime minister of Japan? Inexpensive sushi and sashimi and an array of traditional Japanese dishes make for a memorable dinner.

304 6th Ave S, Seattle, 98104, 206-622-2631
www.manekirestaurant.com

What the Tamarind Tree lacks in tastiness for dinner, it makes up for with its dessert. The restaurant is tucked away in non-descript strip mall, but inside it’s delightfully inviting. The enclosed patio with its toasty heaters make dining al fresco cozy, even in winter.

Order anything from the grilled banana cake to the three bean slush, or pick from their array of homemade ice cream—it’s all great. Just stay away from the durian ice cream—unless you demand that your dessert taste like lighter fluid.

1036 South Jackson Street, Suite A, Seattle, 98104, 206-860-1404, www.tamarindtreerestaurant.com

Bento lunch from Uwajimaya (also seen as feature photo):
Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Uwajimaya, the district’s Asian supermarket, is an overwhelming whirlwind for the Asian food lover. There’s a whole aisle of noodles, and another of tea.

Even if you’re not grocery shopping, you can eat here. The food court has a handful of reasonably priced restaurants serving pho, Thai, Korean and more in a hurry. I recently downed a plate of Rama noodles over baby bok choy smothered in a rich, creamy peanut sauce that had me scraping the sides of the disposable carton it came in.

600 5th Ave S, Seattle, 98104, 206-624-6248
www.uwajimaya.com

One of the varied selections from Unicorn Crepes: armadilo60

One of the magical things about the ID is Unicorn Crepes. If the window display of plastic crepes here seems scary, try one anyway. The ingredients are sometimes bizarre (the chili cheese hot dog crepe, to name one) but the thin, airy pancakes are dreamy.
421 6th Ave. S. Seattle, 98104, 206-652-0637

At the Panama Hotel, history is steeped into your tea. The hotel’s coffee and tea house is charming with its creaky wood floors and old photos of the district, but it has a story, too. It’s the only intact Japanese Sento bathhouse in the U.S., with two marble baths in its basement.

Look through the glass over a cut-out in the floor to see belongings left behind by the Japanese residents when they were sent to internment camps. Oh, and the tea’s great, too.

605 S. Main St., Seattle, 98104, 206-515-4000
www.panamahotelseattle.com