Tourists from Brooklyn take photos on a nearly deserted Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021.
“We were expecting a little bit lower key than the normal Mardi Gras,” Wheeler said.
Coronavirus-related restrictions in New Orleans included canceled parades, closed bars and a near shutdown of rowdy Bourbon Street.
That, and unusually frigid weather, prevented what New Orleans usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season: streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers.
To the east, Mobile, Alabama, which boasts the nation's oldest Mardi Gras celebrations, had also canceled parades.