NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Mardi Gras parades through New Orleans will be shorter and fewer and will stay away from the neighborhoods hit worst by Hurricane Katrina.
But there will be some reminders of the city's struggles, CNN reports. Some of the parades will end at the Convention Center, where hundreds of people driven from their homes by floodwaters waited days for rescue.
The parades began last Saturday and end Tuesday on the night before Ash Wednesday, which begins the penitential season of Lent. This year, the schedule has been cut from 11 days to eight and the number of parades from 34 to 28, with most proceeding on the same relatively short route.
Many New Orleans residents see Mardi Gras as the kickoff for the city's comeback.
"Not having it would be like not having Christmas," said Arthur Hardy, publisher of Mardi Gras magazine.
But others see the celebration as premature, like Walter Francis, who lost relatives in the flooding.
"I really don't think the city is prepared," Francis said. "There's so much that still needs to be done."
