The Mardi Gras Traditions Tourists Never Hear About in NOLA and Baton Rouge
Mardi Gras is just a fun time in Baton Rouge (and NOLA). From king cakes to parades, here’s traditions tourists never hear about!
1. Greasing of the Poles :: NOLA
You already know this one: the Royal Sonesta greases its balcony poles with petroleum jelly to keep revelers from climbing them. They treat it like a full ceremony, complete with music, celebrities, and extravagant fanfare.
2. Zulu’s Hand-Painted Coconuts :: NOLA
The Krewe of Zulu throws hand-decorated coconuts — called Golden Nuggets. They used to throw actual hard coconuts until the float riders kept breaking fingers. Now they’re glittered, painted, and prized like treasure.
3. The St. Ann March :: NOLA (Marigny/French Quarter)
On Mardi Gras morning, locals dress in elaborate homemade costumes and join the St. Ann walking parade. It’s colorful, emotional, and ends with people spreading ashes of loved ones into the Mississippi River. Not many tourists know this one.
4. Tucks Throws Toilet Plungers :: NOLA
The Krewe of Tucks is chaotic on purpose. Their theme is bathroom humor — a direct counter to the “fancy” krewes.
5. Burial of the Sardine :: Baton Rouge
Spanish Town has a bizarre closing tradition where they symbolically bury a sardine. It’s a tongue-in-cheek ritual meant to “end the sins of Mardi Gras” and kick off Lent with sarcasm.
6. Spanish Town’s Flamingo Migration :: Baton Rouge
Before the parade, hundreds of giant pink flamingos appear on the LSU Lakes overnight. No one admits who puts them out, but everyone knows it’s the Spanish Town crew… kind of. It’s the unofficial “the birds have landed — Mardi Gras is here” moment.
7. King Cake Babies With… Attitude :: Statewide
The original king cake baby symbolized good luck. Over the years ::
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New Orleans bakeries started customizing them
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Spanish Town made boozy, sassy, or pink versions
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Some locals keep them in their cars or purses “for luck”
It’s a whole personality at this point.
8. The Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday :: NOLA
The Black Masking Indians (like Wild Magnolias, Yellow Pocahontas, etc.) debut hand-sewn suits that can take a full year to make. It’s not on Mardi Gras Day — it’s on Super Sunday. Tourists miss it, locals live for it.
9. Krewe of Cork’s Wine-Soaked Walk :: NOLA
A parade built entirely around wine. Members dress in grape-inspired costumes and day-drink through the French Quarter. It’s small and weirdly classy.
10. Rougarou Sightings :: Acadiana/Louisiana Culture Spillover
Some rural Louisiana parades include the Rougarou, a Cajun werewolf who roams the route “keeping kids in line.” Totally normal. Very Louisiana.
11. Flambeaux Carriers :: NOLA
Originally, enslaved and free men of color carried flaming torches to light parade routes. Now it’s tradition, and they dance with the flames. People toss those dollar bills for good luck.
12. Baton Rouge’s Krewe of Artemis High Heel Throw
Artemis riders toss custom-decorated, glittery high heels — super rare and highly collectible.
13. Bead Trees :: LSU & Uptown NOLA
After the parades roll through, the oak trees end up dripping in beads. At LSU, students treat it like a campus badge of honor when a tree gets fully covered — people even try to throw beads onto the same branches year after year. In Uptown New Orleans, some “bead trees” stay decorated all year long, turning into colorful landmarks locals can point out month after month.
14. Moon Pies in Baton Rouge Parades
Some Baton Rouge krewes, especially Krewe of Orion and Krewe Mystique, toss Moon Pies instead of beads. No one really knows how it started, but catching a Moon Pie is basically like catching a golden ticket for kids — and it’s one of the few throws everyone can agree tastes better than plastic beads.
15. The Baby Doll Maskers :: NOLA
An early 1900s tradition making a comeback — women dressing in satin baby-doll dresses, bloomers, and handheld masks. They roam the streets in groups, dancing and posing for pictures. It’s fun, flirty, bold, and deeply tied to Black Mardi Gras culture.
16. The Spanish Town “Blame It On Someone” Signs :: Baton Rouge
Along the Spanish Town route, houses put out sarcastic hand-painted signs blaming everything on someone — the mayor, traffic, the weather, LSU, the neighbor’s dog, whoever. It started as neighborhood satire and turned into a full pre-parade tradition people walk around to photograph.
17. Mardi Gras Ladder Seats :: NOLA
17. Mardi Gras Ladder Seats :: NOLANew Orleans families build wooden ladders with wooden seats attached on the top so kids can watch the parades from above the crowds. To outsiders, they look dangerous. To locals, they’re priceless family heirlooms that get rebuilt, repainted, and reused every single year.
18. Krewe of Tucks Toilet Throws :: NOLA
Beyond plungers and toilet brushes, Tucks throws mini toilet paper rolls, squirting rubber duckies, even potty-shaped cups. It’s gross, silly, and beloved. Kids go feral trying to catch the toilet paper streamers.
19. Baton Rouge’s “Ball After the Parade” Culture
Some BR krewe balls often happen immediately after the parade rolls — people go straight from the floats to the ballroom without going home. It’s very different from New Orleans or Acadiana, where the big balls are usually invitation-only and held days before.
20. The Hidden King Cake Messages :: NOLA/Baton Rouge
Some bakeries tuck secret tokens inside king cakes — mini charms, tiny plastic Mardi Gras masks, even encouraging notes. It’s not universal, and most people don’t know it happens, but it’s a sweet little NOLA/Baton Rouge micro-tradition.
21. Under-the-Balcony Bead Catching :: NOLA (French Quarter)
Locals know the rule :: if you stand under a wrought-iron balcony on Bourbon or Royal, you’re in prime position to score rare beads and custom throws. It’s part strategy, part survival, and very much a tradition if you live in the Quarter.
