About Us

Channeling the true spirit of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras Unmasked is the hip, underground guide to all things Mardi Gras in New Orleans. From fabulous original video and photo galleries to interactive trivia challenges and clever Carnival widgets for your Facebook page; from handy parade maps to incisive, carefully researched takes on traditions and local customs; from the lowdown on offbeat happenings to practical, insider’s advice on how to get the most out of the festivities: Mardi Gras Unmasked brings the rich, eye-popping panorama of Carnival in New Orleans right to your desktop, tablet computer or mobile device!

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  2002 Mardi Card cover by Bunny Matthews

  An incisive distillation in a handy printed format, but the Internet offered a glimmer of hope for something potentially more exciting.

  

Mardi Gras Unmasked began as an offshoot of a pocket fold-out guide to Mardi Gras. Introduced in 1997, The Mardi Card included street maps, parade routes, listings and locations of live music venues, a detailed rundown of Carnival-related events and activities that were accessible to the public, plus Mardi Gras-related exhibits and attractions, a glossary of terms, an FAQ and information about how to catch a ride on a Mardi Gras parade float. In short, a convenient distillation of essential information including insights into grassroots rituals and “fringe” Carnival groups often overlooked by other media.

Our modus operandi was — and still is — based on the premise that Mardi Gras could be experienced on many different levels and was not so much an “event” as a cultural phenomenon, expressed through a range of art forms and a dizzying amalgamation of happenings and habits. On the margins — beyond the fancy-dress balls, glitzy parades and flesh-baring exhibitionism on Bourbon Street — is a profusion of “unofficial” processions and presentations that, collectively, represent an authentic and compelling expression of indigenous folkways.

We still strive to provide the inside skinny on navigating the amorphous, multifaceted extravaganza that is Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Transitioning to the Internet

When New Orleans Times-Picayune, in 1998, described The Mardi Card as a “Carnival Hip Sheet… as cool as it is convenient,” Mark Sottek — a local entrepreneur making a name for himself in e-commerce and Web design — took notice. A subsequent meeting over beers at the St. Charles Tavern between Sottek and The Mardi Card’s Graham Button, a former writer and editor for Forbes magazine, led to the launch of MardiCard.com before Mardi Gras 1999. (Sottek and Button are now co-owners of Mardi Gras Unmasked LLC, a Louisiana limited liability corporation.)

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  Million Dollar Baby Dolls in the Ninth Ward, Carnival Day 2009

  Mardi Gras has everything from big parades with marching bands and fantastic floats to spontaneous eruptions of dance and joie de vivre in the street; from debutante tea parties and elaborately choreographed balls to offbeat expressions of indigenous culture on neighborhood back streets.

  

Initially conceived as an online marketing vehicle for The Mardi Card, the site expanded along with the scope of our editorial efforts, becoming an outlet for documenting the festivities through photography and reportage. The Mardi Card ceased publication after Mardi Gras 2002. By then, MardiCard.com had morphed into MardiGrasUnmasked.com. The Internet offered not only the obvious advantage of reaching a broader audience in a more cost-effective and timely way, but also a glimmer of hope for something potentially more exciting. We started shooting and archiving video, envisioning a day when technology would make it possible to present Mardi Gras as an immersive online experience.

In truth, Mardi Gras Unmasked was more a labor of love than a business — fueled by a belief in the wisdom of fools and an appreciation for Mardi Gras as the civic ritual that best exemplifies the astounding cultural richness of New Orleans.

After the storm

The catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina, having put the hurt on so many torchbearers of local culture, caused us to refocus our efforts. No longer could we take the city’s unique heritage and vernacular traditions for granted. And no longer could we abide the distorted projections of New Orleans and Mardi Gras in the mass media.

New Orleans has its share of problems, not doubt. But it’s not a city overwhelmed by poverty and dysfunction, abandoned to gun-toting thugs. And as much as the national media likes to traffic in titillation, playing up the risqué side of Mardi Gras revelry, the gala has in fact retained much of its traditional family orientation.

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  FEMA trailer decorated for Mardi Gras

  The Mardi Gras spirit is associated with optimism and positive thinking, as was demonstrated by the heroic determination of New Orleanians, in spite of the devastation wrought by levee failures, to successfully stage Mardi Gras in 2006 – which helped the city believe in itself again.

  

As it turned out, the city’s most important cultural institution would not only offer a respite from harrowing loss and displacement, as well as a cathartic forum for channeling frustration and delivering satirical commentary through costuming and parade themes. It also provided an opportunity for people to take control of their own destiny and make an affirmative statement to the world: We’re here; the city is open for business and can handle a big event; and we will honor and preserve the traditions we hold dear. Mardi Gras, in other words, helped New Orleans overcome the trauma of Katrina and believe in itself again. Mardi Gras Unmasked was proud to help promote this rejuvenation.

Keeping pace with technology

In recent years, we’ve tried to keep our eye on changes in Mardi Gras, which has seen a heartening influx of new grassroots krewes embracing do-it-yourself artistry, as well as technology innovations. In 2010 — in collaboration with the world’s largest Internet radio network, Live365 — we introduced Mardi Gras Music Radio (click to launch player), streaming a large collection of songs to help spread the spirit of Mardi Gras worldwide. Live 365 is a community of stations programmed by people who are passionate about the music they play. And unlike freeloading Internet broadcast pirates who stream music in flagrant violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Live365 respects the ownership rights of artists, publishers and recording labels, paying royalties for every song you hear.

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  Mardi Gras Music Radio, streaming 24/7

  Mardi Gras Unmasked subscribes to the notion that music is New Orleans’ unique gift to the world and its most valuable cultural resource.

  

For Mardi Gras 2012, we’ve implemented a complete overhaul and redesign of Mardi Gras Unmasked. Our modus operandi has been to deconstruct the overall presentation, eliminating clutter to achieve a cleaner, more stripped-down aesthetic.

At the same time, we’ve deployed underlying technology based on the new standard for structuring and presenting electronic content, HTML5. We’ve also added new tools and plug-ins for rendering content on iPads and mobile devices. Our underlying style sheets now recognize what type of device is accessing the site, optimizing the presentation accordingly. Our ultimate goal is an online environment that functions more like an app than a traditional website. In practical terms, this means more functional, faster-loading pages and fewer navigational clicks — or, in the case of the iPad, swipes — to find the information you’re looking for.

It has been a steep learning curve, but we’re excited about the prospect of the new technology allowing us to spend less time managing the site and more time generating content and promoting the site. In the meantime, please bear with us as we work through the process of porting archival content to the new platform and adding updated information and new features.

Come Mardi Gras 2013, we’ll be fully rockin’, f’sure!