Word: mardi
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...Mardi Gras, more than any other attraction, has created the image of New Orleans as a marvelous place to have...
Ever since the "Mistick Krewe of Comus" was organized in 1857, the city has celebrated the week leading up to Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the day before Lent begins, with a frenzy that turns the entire town into a carnival. Gaudy floats, built by private clubs called krewes, parade through the streets, their brightly costumed riders scattering beads and doubloons to the crowds. Festivities build to a final burst of brilliance on Mardi Gras Day when Rex and Comus, the monarchs of Mardi Gras, reign over their lavish parades and balls in resplendent sequin-and-satin costumes...
...Orleans police shrewdly realized, closing down Mardi Gras because of inadequate police protection was their ultimate threat in negotiations with city officials-rather like canceling Christmas. For years the police had no muscle to back up such a threat, but this time Teamster officials came in, led by Joseph Valenti, a tough, cigar-smoking troubleshooter from Detroit. On Feb. 9, when Mayor Ernest Morial refused to deal with a Teamster-backed majority in the department, the police marched...
...week war of nerves began, while everyone wondered: Would the city capitulate in time for Mardi Gras Day? One by one the parade dates came around and the floats did not roll. The few that did were forced to move to Kenner or some other shopping-center suburb, since Morial could not guarantee order in the downtown area. As Mardi Gras Day drew nearer, public support for the police waned, down from 67% in a local television poll two weeks ago to 17% last week...
...sanitation workers refusing to pick up garbage, firemen manning the police picket lines in sympathy, and federal mediators stymied, many local citizens had had enough. Eighteen of the oldest and grandest krewes canceled their parades, the first time since the Korean War and only the ninth time in Mardi Gras's 122-year history. "We are not going to let Mardi Gras be held hostage by the Teamsters," read a statement issued by the krewes. "It means a half million dollars and a whole year's work down the drain, plus all the fun we miss," lamented Owen...