re: City of New Orleans Mardi Gras Fee.

Shameless cash grab. If they succeed in getting the nose of the camel into the tent, it will eat the golden goose within 5 years.

I disagree with the view that government is subsidizing private activities when it comes to carnival in New Orleans. If anything, krewes are lavishly subsidizing the city's economic development by spending thousands per rider to put on events that draw in tourists from all over the world. The economic benefits of carnival outweigh the public costs to support it. New Orleans is built on tourism and big events, and city resources should support the maintenance of that economy.

They would do better renting neutral ground parcels…

No fricks to give

You really are special to believe your 'back of a napkin' math. Try $900 million!! That's a 9 with eight 0's behind it; almost $1 billion!

So here's my back of the napkin math: Conservatively speaking there are 25000 riders x $25 = $625,000. Let's call it an even million (although you're kidding yourself because of all of the exemptions there will be). How much difference is an extra million going to help the city get out of it's financial woes? You'd be much more successful going after all the organizations that are currently tax exempt.
And as others pointed out $25 may not break any rider but we know better than think it'll stop there. There are already bead size restrictions being imposed and the city is already guilty of pulling 2 floats' riders off for questionable offenses.Think about that; carte blanche to rob a member for any reason they deem necessary, and all with no recourse for the member. There isn't a single captain that I know that will risk losing their permit by going against the city so they just sit there and eat their shite sandwich while smiling. Something has changed. Krewes that were once revered and thanked for putting on free shows all at a great expense to the riders are now the enemy of the state and need to be corralled and taxed.
I have told several of my friends this post season that we are on a slippery slope and unless the Captains stand together and draw a line Mardi Gras will forever be changed ala the frog in boiling water.


Economic impact of Mardi Gras - Tulane economic professor

Not my numbers, the Tulane economic professor's.
What did stand out was a ROI of $2.64 for every dollar the city spent. Oh, and this number:

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Combining the information regarding the numbers of organizations each respondent belongs to, parades participated in, and balls attended, with the dollar figures provided, the following estimates the total expenditures by Krewe members from the end of Mardi Gras 2022 to the end of Mardi Gras 2023.
All Krewe Member expenditures
Parades $77,464,456
Balls $64,181,835
Other related expenses $11,140,540
TOTAL $152,786,831

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But sure, ding the members another $25

frick that all the money we riders make for. Nola..that's bull shitt

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Yes, Mardi Gras draws a lot of visitors and attention to the city and generates tax revenue, but my point is that I do not believe that this tax extra revenue is enough to cover all the extra expenses that a city spends on these events especially when there is a parade nearly every night beginning 2 weeks before Mardi Gras.

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It definitely does by a mile and there's plenty of data to back it up.

Mardi Gras has the same amount of economic impact as a Fortune 500 company that hired 2000 people here would have.

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I wonder if 25 dollars is going to scare or impede any of these riders.

Heck I could even see other jurisdictions implementing a fee like this.

The government shouldn’t be subsidizing a private organization’s parade down the street.


The cost should be more. The city should tabulate the overtime and trash pickup costs and hand the bill to each Krewe parading down the street. Krewes should also be responsible for their own facility fees, rental equipment, and food expenses at Gallire Hall.


One thing that these fees may do is eliminate some smaller krewes that shouldn’t be individual krewes to begin with. I find there are way too many krewes leading to way too many parade nights.

Heck in Terrebonne Parish, Krewes wanted to continue to receive sweetheart deals to rent the civic center for Krewe tableaus and other parties. The parish had enough and changed the rates.

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The City of New Orleans spends approximately $10.6 million each year on direct costs to stage Mardi Gras, including police, sanitation, permitting, and other essential services. According to Tulane University economist Toni Weiss’s comprehensive 2023 economic impact study, the city realizes a net fiscal benefit of roughly $28 million after those expenditures. This net gain reflects increased tax revenue—primarily from sales taxes, hotel occupancy taxes, and other local levies generated by the surge in visitor and local spending—far exceeding the city’s outlay. The study calculates a strong return of $2.64 for every dollar the city invests in the celebration.
Krewe members, including the float riders who make the parades possible, contribute even more substantially on the private side. They collectively spend more than $150 million annually on throws, costumes, dues, balls, and related expenses. Spending on throws alone across all New Orleans parades is estimated at $50 million or more each year. These private investments, combined with the broader $891 million in total economic activity Mardi Gras generates (representing over 3% of the city’s GDP), make the event one of New Orleans’ most powerful economic engines.
Against this backdrop, proposals to impose new per-rider fees on float riders—starting around $25 and potentially increasing over time—place additional costs on the very individuals and organizations already shouldering the largest share of Carnival’s financial burden. Riders and krewes fund the spectacle that draws visitors, fills hotels and restaurants, and produces the tax revenue the city enjoys. Layering new recurring fees onto this group risks diminishing the private investment that sustains the tradition and fuels its economic return.
Mardi Gras thrives because of the remarkable generosity and commitment of its participants. Policies that recognize and support that contribution, rather than add to it, will best preserve both the cultural heart and the fiscal strength of the celebration for years to come.