When you hear the words “New Orleans Mardi Gras” you might think of “masking”, “drunken revelry”, and “debauchery”. You would not be wrong! However, if you suspect that there may be something more to a city-wide celebration so popular with visitors that the number of people in the city doubles in size, and so attractive to the vast majority of locals - including families with children - that year after year they invest their time, money and energy to participate in its colorful traditions, you would also be correct.

Congregation Emeth is hosting a program at 7 p.m. on the evening of March 4th that will offer a peek into the multitude of big messy parades, balls, parties, and festivities that make up what New Orleanians refer to as “the Carnival Season.” Join us then to find out more about Mardi Gras’ historical and religious underpinnings, its multiple forms of celebration, and even its dirty little secrets. New Orleans’ style refreshments to follow.

About our Presenter:

After law school, Julie Schwartz was lured down to New Orleans by a federal judicial clerkship and a rock and roll lead guitarist named David Radlauer. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina almost convinced them to move elsewhere. Instead, they returned, and Julie’s love for her adopted hometown blossomed.  

In 2008, she became a licensed tour guide, leading tours of the French Quarter and Garden District for Friends of the Cabildo, Visit New Orleans, and Gray Line. She has also served as a local guide for Tauck’s New Orleans’ Jazz Tour.  In 2010, she developed a Jewish Tour of New Orleans that she presented to hundreds of individuals and groups, including Jewish Federations, JCC’s, synagogues, and Hadassah chapters.

We hope you come and enjoy!