Mardi Gras is my favorite time of year. I adore the week-long celebration– full of costumes, delicious King Cake, endless drinks…and with varying levels of debauchery, depending on your style and inhibitions. If you’re celebrating Fat Tuesday in New Orleans this year, here are a few tips! Get to the party early: Mardi Gras isn’t just one day of revelry. The Mardi Gras season begins on Twelfth Night, and it only builds from there: in the weeks preceding Fat Tuesday, there’s more and more parades and events that ultimately crescendos the weekend before. Some of the best Krewes roll the Thursday and Friday nights preceding Mardi Gras. Muses is a favorite among locals, and my personal favorite is Krewe d’Etat, which is a parade full of political satire — on a local and national level. krewe |kroo| noun.  A private social club that sponsors balls, parades, etc., as part of the Mardi Gras festivities. Then there’s the Super Krewes: Endymion, Bacchaus, and Orpheus. These three are known for their high-tech floats, intricate design, and elaborate costumes — as a result, they draw enormous crowds. Get there early! Fun fact: Mardi Gras is privately funded by the members of the Krewes. The dues to join a Krewe are hefty, but it covers security, barricades, street sweepers, street closures, permits — and of course, all the “throws”. throws |THros| noun.  Items one can catch at a Mardi Gras parade, including but not limited to: plastic beads, speciality beads, doubloons, cups, toys, light-up trinkets at night parades, plus Krewe-specific items (Coconuts from Zulu, Muses throws specialty shoes, toilet plungers at Tucks). Track the parades with WDSU’s Parade Tracker. I LOVE THIS APP. It provides you with all the information you need: Schedules, maps of parade routes, and even the chance of rain. Best of all, once the Krewe rolls, it tracks where on the route the parade is and keeps you updated if the parade is stalled somewhere on the route. The app really comes in handy when you’ve been waiting for thirty minutes after Proteus, wondering where the heck Orpheus is. WWL has a parade tracker app as well — but I prefer WDSU’s interface. BYOTP. Public toilets on parade routes are scarce, and toilet paper is even scarcer. Closer to downtown and the Quarter, hotels require their guests to wear bracelets in order to gain access to their lobby (and bathroom facilities). In Uptown, public restrooms are nearly impossible to find. The...