Mardi Gras 2027 is Tuesday, February 9. But if you're asking "when is Mardi Gras" because you want to plan a trip, the better answer is that Mardi Gras is the last day of a season that starts weeks earlier, on January 6.
Visitors book a flight for Fat Tuesday and are surprised to find the city has been partying for a month. Locals have been eating king cake since Twelfth Night and going to parades for a couple of weeks by then. Fat Tuesday is the finale. The show has been running a while.
How the Mardi Gras Date Is Set
Mardi Gras moves every year because Easter moves, and Mardi Gras is tied to Easter.
Here's the math. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. Count back 46 days and you get Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Mardi Gras is the day before, which puts it 47 days before Easter, according to the Farmers' Almanac.
For 2027, Easter is March 28. That puts Ash Wednesday on February 10 and Mardi Gras on February 9.
"Mardi Gras" means "Fat Tuesday" in French, per 64 Parishes. It's the last day to eat and drink before Lent. New Orleans has taken that idea very seriously for a very long time.
When Carnival Starts
Carnival season always starts on January 6, Twelfth Night, no matter when Easter lands. 64 Parishes describes the season as running from Twelfth Night through Mardi Gras.
That means the length of the season changes every year. An early Easter makes for a short Carnival. A late Easter stretches it out.
2027 is a short one. From January 6 to February 9 is 34 days. Compare that to 2026, when Mardi Gras fell on February 17, per the National Weather Service, and the season ran 42 days. Krewes have less calendar to work with, and Louisiana outlets are already calling 2027 one of the shortest seasons in years.
What the Season Looks Like
The first weeks are quiet by New Orleans standards. Mostly king cakes and private balls.
Then it builds. The big parades pile up in the last couple of weeks before Fat Tuesday, with something rolling almost every night in the final stretch. Some of the oldest names in Carnival date back a long way. According to 64 Parishes, the Mistick Krewe of Comus put on New Orleans' first Mardi Gras parade in 1857, and Rex was founded in 1872. The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club began in the early twentieth century in the city's Black neighborhoods.
Mardi Gras day itself is its own world. Zulu and Rex roll in the morning, and families who staked out St. Charles at dawn are already on their ladders. Walking krewes fill the Marigny and the Quarter with costumes. Black Masking Indians (also called Mardi Gras Indians) come out in suits they've spent the year sewing by hand. That tradition belongs to their communities, and if you're lucky enough to see a gang on the street, give them room and respect. We wrote about Super Sunday, another day the Indians come out.
How to Survive a Season
The people who love Carnival the most treat it like a marathon. They don't go to every parade. They pick their spots.
Start with weeknight parades Uptown, which tend to be more relaxed and full of families. Learn the city's rules for the route before you go. NOLA Ready says ladders can be no taller than six feet and must sit six feet back from the curb, and you can't set up your stuff more than four hours before a parade starts.
Our guides to what to do during Mardi Gras and what not to do in New Orleans cover the rest. Short version: don't dive for beads in front of a kid.
Carnival at Home
If you can't make it down, the season can still find you. Our Happy Almost Mardi Gras Ornament captures how the whole city feels in December, already looking past Christmas to Carnival. And for the car, the My Other Car Is A Float Magnet tells the parking lot where your heart really is.
For the rest of the season's gear, from king cake shirts to parade-day socks, see Goin' To The Mardi Gras, or come find us on Magazine Street or Chartres Street. We'll tell you which parades we're going to.
When Is Mardi Gras: FAQ
When is Mardi Gras 2027?
Mardi Gras 2027 is Tuesday, February 9. Ash Wednesday follows on February 10, and Easter is March 28.
How is the date of Mardi Gras determined?
Mardi Gras is 47 days before Easter Sunday, and Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. Because Easter moves, Mardi Gras moves too.
When does Carnival season start in New Orleans?
Carnival season starts on January 6, Twelfth Night, and runs through Mardi Gras day. In 2027 that's a short season of about five weeks.
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