This is New Orleans’s exuberant feast before the famine, a dizzy intertwining of its centuries-old Caribbean and European cultural roots, as much a commercial show to reap tourism dollars as a revered local tradition. Arrive early to stake out a spot along the parade routes of St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street, amid a sea of ‘carnivalistas’ chanting “Throw me something, mister!”, demanding the plastic doubloons and cups, trinkets and coveted necklaces that are tossed by float-borne revellers. In its pre-Katrina heyday,