When non-New Orleanians think of Mardi Gras, images of rowdy exuberance and Bourbon-Street excess typically come to mind. What they often don't realize is that for the vast majority of locals, Mardi Gras is a very much a family affair. Children's activities include king-cake balls, costume-making, second-lining and watching parades from atop festively festooned ladders while wielding butterfly nets to snag airborne trinkets tossed by riders on floats.

And if all this weren't enough to induce allegiance to the festivities, there's the fact that the children of the realm are freed from their studies for the better part of a week.