Mardi Gras 2018 Season Underway In New Orleans

Rex Organization Issues Traditional Proclamation Leading To Fat Tuesday

They have just cleared out from New Year’s Eve and hosting Alabama and Clemson fans for the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Sugar Bowl.

And the New Orleans Saints are hosting the the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Wild Card game.

But in the Big Easy, there’s even something bigger to celebrate: Mardi Gras.

And while Fat Tuesday is not until Feb. 13, the party has already started here. On Saturday, Jan, 6, ‘Mardi Gras season’ in New Orleans, began with ‘Twelfth Night.’ To help officially launch the season, Rex, King of Carnival has issue its annual edict to the world inviting people to the Big Easy, through New Orleans tourism.

“The Rex organization has issued its edict for over 100 years in this unique and authentic place called New Orleans,” said Mark Romig, President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, NOTMC. “Carnival will be bigger than ever this year to help visitors and locals celebrate the city’s 300th anniversary.”

The Rex Organization, founded in 1872, began when a group of young New Orleans leaders created a daytime parade and issued a proclamation, inviting all to come to the ‘Crescent City’ to join in its unique Mardi Gras celebration.

Today the proclamation is sent through New Orleans tourism’s official communication channels. In the days before mass media, broadcast, and tourism industries, the beautiful art posters and brochures were distributed in railroad stations, plastered on train cars, posted in centers of commerce, and placed in public buildings around the nation in major U.S. cities.

“As we enter the city’s Tricentennial year in 2018, we look forward to welcoming visitors and gathering with locals to take part in the Mardi Gras revelry, kicking off on Twelfth Night and continuing until Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, February 13th this year,” said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. “These carnival celebrations showcase the unique culture, history and ‘joie de vivre’ that can be found year-round in New Orleans.”

The 2018 Royal Edict incorporates artwork from 1886, inviting visitors to “gather, from far and near, to join in the many celebrations and processions which will shortly unfold under the joyful Carnival banner.” More important, it signals the city’s annual signature family event that promises fun, merriment, and joy to those who pause for a day from the normalcies of life.

Each year, both the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOCVB) issue an electronic version of the Invitation to the nation and to international destinations.

The Royal Proclamation is also be featured on the official tourism website, NewOrleans.com.