Best Cities for Mardi Gras Celebrations on Fat Tuesday
New Orleans
The original home of Mardi Gras celebrations cannot be overlooked. Get a French Quarter hotel with a window view and watch the Mardi Gras craziness ensue. Make sure you stock up on the beads, as many will be exchanged for a variety of undisclosed favors. In 2010, the Mardi Gras partying is going to merge with the major football partying to become one crazy mess of Mardi Gras celebration.
Las Vegas
A Mardi Gras hotspot in the desert, Vegas is a party capital of the world and certainly a great place to get your Mardi Gras on. Every year, Fremont Street hosts a Mardi Gras celebration that will knock your socks off. The Mardi Gras in 2008 and 2009 were packed with people donning beads, and the streets should certainly be the same in 2010. Best of all, the celebration is free. The street is shut down so the sidewalk is safe for wandering between the downtown Las Vegas hotels, casinos and bars. Get some beads and enjoy some fried desserts, eat prime rib dinners and go clubbing on the same street where you crash in a luxurious Las Vegas hotel.
San Diego
Every year, San Diego has a VIP area in the Gaslamp Quarter. The historic buildings are breathtaking to see as an adult-oriented parade travels the Gaslamp Quarter, a host of entertaining and enticing Mardi Gras parade goodies in tow. There are booths and restaurants running their own Mardi Gras events and specials inside. Tickets to the Gaslamp Quarter Mardi Gras celebration are $15 as of 2010, and the party goes from 6 p.m. to midnight, so make sure you arrange for a ride to the next club.
In order to have a safe and happy Mardi Gras, plan your designated driver early so you don't have to end the party earlier than you would like or drive home impaired. Drunk driving is dangerous, and a cab is way cheaper than a weekend in jail. Suck up your pride and call for a ride before you hurt someone. If you organize, you won't be surprised when you end up too drunk to drive.
Published by Em Robbins
West Coast composer and entertainment writer with a focus on arts, music and media scenes. Contact me at EmRobbinsWrites@gmail.com. View profile
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