NEW ORLEANS, La. — It’s carnival season in New Orleans with weeks of parades, all leading up to one day: Mardi Gras. Part of the parade appeal includes all the throws you can catch, like beads ...

It’s a beloved Carnival season tradition in New Orleans — masked riders on lavish floats fling strings of beads or other trinkets to parade watchers.

Mardi Gras New Orleans: “What’s a Mardi Gras party without a King Cake?” Colorful cake topped with a tiny plastic baby and surrounded by shiny beads, set on an ornate silver platter.© Lynne ...

Footage from the USA TODAY's livestream shows a vibrant and cheering crowd in New Orleans catching beads from the floats. These photos capture the essence of the 2025 Mardi Gras celebration.

Get live Mardi Gras 2025 updates on Fat Tuesday parades, route changes due to weather, and the latest celebrations happening across New Orleans.

Niecy Nash-Betts and wife Jessica Betts honored their love story with a backyard New Orleans celebration. Read about their ...

The Clarion Ledger took a ride on the inaugural run of Amtrak's Mardi Gras service that goes along Mississippi Coast. Get an inside look.

NEW ORLEANS — Night after night for months, Alex Webber stitched her way through a pile of tiny colored beads, transforming them into an intricate mosaic depicting a pot of boiling crawfish.

Will President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports affect Mardi Gras? Krewe captains fear prices are set to rise, and it could mean fewer riders, fewer throws.

Beads are tossed at outstretched hands during the Zulu parade on Mardi Gras in New Orleans Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon ...

People donning skeleton masks and antlers on their heads gathered in New Orleans' historic Treme neighborhood as the sun rose Tuesday, determined to beat an expected storm and celebrate Mardi Gras ...