Mardi Gras is generally a family-friendly holiday and not just the often seen adults-only, drunken celebration.
Children can be seen lining the parade routes, families spend weeks making costumes together and there's even kid-centered parades.
Ariana Maria Ybarra, a married mother with two young girls, says her family has spent recent weeks preparing for Chewbacchus, the Star Wars-themed walking parade in the city's Marigny neighborhood slated for Feb. 3.
She said Mardi Gras is the best quality time they get as a family all year because they spend the weekends preparing their costumes and going to parades together.