If this were a normal year, we would be getting ready for the final stretch of the Mardi Gras season. It's not a normal year, however; but just because Mardi Gras is different doesn't mean the spirit doesn't live on.
Scoot has been interviewing famous New Orleanians about how they're handling this abnormal Carnival season, and he spoke with Big Easy native Bryan Batt – an actor who has appeared on stage, film, and TV, notably Mad Men – to find out some of his favorite Mardi Gras memories and experiences.
“I loved it [growing up],” Batt said. “I came out and loved Mardi Gras. My mom really celebrated it, too; but my dad wasn't so into it. He rode in one parade. My brother loved collecting the doubloons at the time. I loved just seeing the parade.
“If we got our homework done in time, we would go all over the city,” Batt continued. He echoed a point Irma Thomas made. “Remember, the parades used to be really neighborhood parades; and they weren't all [on] the same routes. They would take different routes. So we were like parade-busters. We would go find the different parades.
Batt then recounted two of his fondest memories.
“We had a pair of aunts,” he said. “Well, they weren't really aunts. They were New Orleans aunts. They were like family. They lived on the corner of St. Peter and Royal, and they lived on the second floor...It had a balcony, and we would watch the parades in the French Quarter when we were really little.
“And there's nothing like the anticipation of seeing the floats and the flambeaux lighting up the French Quarter, hearing those drums reverberating off those ancient buildings,” Batt said. “It's just magic. And that feeling and that sense of it comes back every time I see a parade.”
He also remembered one Bacchus in particular he got to experience up close.
“We watched it roll into the Rivergate,” Batt said. “We were not behind barricades. We got to be right there with these enormous floats going by, and I'll just never forget [how] I felt so small but so big at the same time.”
It's not just childhood memories, of course. The first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina was a memorable one for many.
“We were actually living on the parade route,” Batt explained. “You don't know how many friends you have until you live on the parade route. You don't know...My mom was over and my all my little nieces and family; and when we heard the drums from that first parade coming down St. Charles, literally everyone welled up because it brought back all those great memories and the fact that we were going to continue. And I feel that this year, too!”
Many have tried, and many have failed to describe what Mardi Gras is like for someone who's never experienced it. Batt believes that's part of its nature.
“It's like trying to explain the thrill of going to see a Broadway show,” Batt said. “It's trying to explain this visceral feeling. It's a state of a mind. Mardi Gras's not just one day, you know. It goes on for awhile. You have to get in gear. It's a marathon. It's not a sprint.
Watch the complete interview with Scoot & Bryan Batt
“I think it's something you have to experience,” he continued. “It's something you can't really describe. There's theatrical sense to it. There's a celebratory sense to it. There's an audio/visual [sense]. It's a feast for the senses.”
We don't get to experience the usual Mardi Gras this year, but that only has Batt looking forward to 2022 even more.
“What's great about it is when you can't celebrate it full out and be here in New Orleans, it just makes the next year that much more special,” Batt said. “It makes the heart grow fonder.
“I do remember the year – I think I was in high school – when there was the policemen's strike; and all the parades were canceled. The Mardi Gras balls were able to continue; so, technically, Mardi Gras did happen in that sense. But I remember waiting for the next year for the parades to happen, and it was just even more magical.”
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