Mardi Grass New Orleans' carnival season - which starts on Twelfth Night and runs for the six weeks or so until Ash Wednesday - is unlike any other in the world. Though the name is used to define the entire season, Mardi Gras itself, French for "Fat Tuesday," is simply the culmination of a whirl of parades, parties, street revels and masked balls, all inextricably tied up with the city's labyrinthine social, racial and political structures. Mardi Gras was introduced to New Orleans in the 1740s, when French colonists brought over the European custom, established since medieval times, of marking the imminence of Lent with masking and feasting. Their slaves, meanwhile, continued to celebrate African and Caribbean festival traditions, based on musical rituals, masking and

elaborate costumes, and the three eventually fused. From early days carnival was known for cavorting, outrageous costumes, drinking and general bacchanalia, and little has changed. However, although it is the busiest tourist season - when the city is invaded by millions - Mardi Gras has always been, above all, a party that New Orleanians throw for themselves. Visitors are wooed, welcomed, and showed the time of their lives, but without them carnival would reel on regardless, dressing wildly, drinking and dancing its bizarre way into Lent. One important New Orleans Mardi Gras ritual is the flinging of " throws " from the floats. Teasing masked krewe members scatter beads, beakers and doubloons (toy coins) into the crowds, who beg, plead and scream for them. Souvenirs vary in worth: the bright, cheap strings of beads are least valuable, while the bizarrely garbed coconuts handed out by Zulu are worth their weight in gold. When the parade is over, tourists embark upon a frantic bead-bartering frenzy, which has given rise to the famed "Show Your Tits!" phenomenon - young co-eds pulling up their shirts in exchange for strings of beads and roars of boozy approval from the goggling mobs. Anyone keen to see the show should head for Bourbon Street. The fun starts early on Mardi Gras day, with walking clubs striding through uptown accompanied by raucous jazz on their ritualized bar crawls. Zulu, in theory, sets off at 8.30am (but can be as much as two hours late), followed by Rex. Like all good Catholic cities, New Orleans takes carnival very seriously. Midnight marks the onset of Lent, and repentance can begin.

Other New Orleans festivals

St Joseph's Day
March 19. Sicilian saint's day, at the mid-point of Lent. Families build massive altars of food in their homes, inviting the public to come and admire them and to share food. The Sunday closest to St Joseph's ("Super Sunday") is the only time outside Mardi Gras that the Mardi Gras Indians take to the streets.

Spring Fiesta
March/April (week after Easter). Five-day festival when many of the loveliest homes in the French Quarter and Garden District are open to the public. It's all rather genteel, with guides rigged up in hooped skirts and a classical concert series. Contact tel 504/581-1367.

French Quarter Festival
Early April. Free three-day music festival that rivals Jazz Fest for the quality and variety of music on offer. Stages and food stalls, a jazz brunch in Jackson Square, tours of private patios, free evening gigs, parades and talent contests. Contact tel 504/522-5730 or .

Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest)
End of April/start of May at the Fairgrounds Race Track. Fabulous, enormous festival, with stages hosting jazz, R&B, gospel, African, Caribbean, Cajun, blues, reggae, funk, Mardi Gras Indian and brass band music, with evening performances in clubs all over town. Also crafts and fantastic food stalls. Contact tel 504/522-4786 or .