NEW ORLEANS – Floods and hurricanes aren’t enough to stop the New Orleans revelry: City officials announced Wednesday that the Mardi Gras celebration is on for February, though it will be four days shorter than usual.
The hurricane-battered city’s plan is to allow eight days of festivities for the annual pre-Lenten party, and to consider corporate sponsorships to help defray the city’s cost, said Ernest Collins with city’s Office of Economic Development.
The city initially pitched a six-day schedule – half the normal length – because of concerns over the cost of overtime pay for police, emergency responders and sanitation crews. But parade krewes complained six days wasn’t enough.
“It’s common sense,” said Ed Muniz, captain of Endymion, a Saturday night parade that is one of the city’s biggest. “This is a city people love to visit, and this is one of the events that makes New Orleans what it is.”
The compromise, which still requires the mayor’s approval, calls for parades during the weekend of Feb. 18 and 19, and the following Thursday, Feb. 23, through Mardi Gras, Feb. 28, Collins said.
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