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Mardi Gras Forecast: Cloudy With A Chance of Deals

There are less than three weeks to go before Mardi Gras '09, but does anyone still feel like partying? Judging by hotel deals for the week of Feb. 24, not as many as last year.

Besides a lack of star power out for this year's parade -- really, Jim Belushi? -- a continuing dispute about French Quarter cleanup may dampen the numbers who turn out for this year's festivities.

Mayor Ray Nagin's agreement with the New Orleans City Council about continuing to seek private help to clean out the city's most touristed areas has fallen apart again over a dispute in funding. Since one of the first cuts Nagin made was to private garbage pickup, restaurants and bars which failed to hire their own pick-up are piling up the trash on city sidewalks.

Despite that big stink, New Orleans business are still optimistic that this year's celebration will draw, if not more attendees than last year, at least the same crowd. The official season, which kicked off Jan. 6, is expected to bring in some $840 million in revenue -- and 200,000 of those plastic beads. We say hang in there for a last-minute discounting frenzy; airlines with empty seats will start getting jittery around the beginning of next week. For those who can't make it, there's always the Crappy Mardi Gras Gifts Facebook application, developed by a jaded city resident.

Related Stories:
· Hotel Rooms in NOLA Are Still Under 200 For Mardi Gras [HC]
· French Quarter Denizens Decry Proliferation of Trash Under New City Hall Mandate [New Orleans Times-Picayune
· Earlier: Near Miss For French Quarter Cleanliness [Jaunted]
· Businesses Predict Busy Mardi Gras Despite Economy [WDSU]
· Facebook application makes light of annoying Mardi Gras situations [C'est La Nola]