Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans (15 images)

Members of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parade down St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, March 8, 2011. Zulu, a traditionally African-American Carnival organization has been parading for over a hundred years. (UPI/A.J. Sisco)

A Zulu maiden raises her goblet to toast the crowds as the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parades down St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, March 8, 2011. Zulu, a traditionally African-American Carnival organization, has been parading for over a hundred years. (UPI/A.J. Sisco)

Crowds mill around on Bourbon Street early on Mardi Gras day, March 8, 2011, in New Orleans. With most revelers still on parade routes, Bourbon Street appears almost empty by Carnival standards. (UPI/A.J. Sisco)

A rider waves trinkets at the crowd from a float in the Zulu parade Mardi Gras day in New Orleans, March 8, 2011. Zulu, a traditionally African-American Carnival organization, has been parading for over a hundred years. (UPI/A.J. Sisco)