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"Throw Me Something, Mister": The History of Carnival Throws in New Orleans

Mardi Gras draws millions of tourists to New Orleans yearly, contributing to the economy of the city. Visitors soon discover the thrill of catching "throws" tossed to paradegoers by members of parade organizations' riding floats. For tourists and locals alike, throws become the cultural currency of New Orleans during Carnival. Beads, doubloons, coconuts, cups and other throws develop an inherent value, enticing crowds. People esteem throws enough to compete for them, with varying levels of intensity, along parade routes and on the streets of the French Quarter. The purchase of throws by Carnival krewes also brings revenue into New Orleans. Scholars have written many studies on Mardi Gras, including studies on individual organizations, tourism and economy. However, no study examines the history of Mardi Gras throws. This thesis seeks to fill that void, and establishes an earlier date for the first time beads were thrown from floats.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uno.edu/oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2277
Date20 May 2011
CreatorsCapo, Lissa
PublisherScholarWorks@UNO
Source SetsUniversity of New Orleans
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceUniversity of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

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