THE HECTIC, HARRIED EIGHTIES

The Fat Tuesday of 1980 dawned on another unusual dichotomy to Carnival.  Though the economic problems facing the nation were effectively shutting down all 'unnecessary' events and programs everywhere else, Mardi Gras in New Orleans was going strong.  This is one of the effects of Louis Prima's observations about the timeline in the city.  Though there will be those who will contradict your humble Professor, but generally the conditions of the nation are seldom reflected in Carnival celebrations (with the exception of current events ripe for satirizations-in this, New Orleans is always at the forefront).  So, while the rest of the country languished in the grips of a recession, New Orleans reveled through the Eighties like the characters in a night-time soap opera!
The early years of the decade were festive and fertile, as all Carnivals should be.  The moratorium on street parades in the late Seventies did little to decrease the fun for those in Orleans Parish, and much to help the party spread out across Jefferson and St. Tammany Parishes.  23 new parading krewes formed during this time, while 18 krewes disbanded.  Technically, this sets the Eighties apart as the decade with the worst krewe losses, but still finishes with a gain of 5 krewes; another hallmark of the heights and depths that marked much of the era.  And there were some hard roads to get around during this lush period.  In 1982, three people lost their lives during the revelry, which led to the creation of the mayor's Mardi Gras Task Force to enforce stricter safety measures.  In 1984, the World's Fair set up shop at the foot of Canal St., and was a huge financial failure for the city (for more information on the World's Fair, click here), but the folly provided ripe fodder for masquers and parades the following Mardi Gras.  It was this same year that the Krewe of Palmares introduced self-propelled floats.  1986 was a banner Gras, with a record-setting 55 parades in the Orleans-Jefferson-St. Bernard Parish area.  Zulu came under fire and city ordinance in 1987, when the tossing of coconuts became illegal under the city's new insurance policies.  Fans of the krewe and of the tradition carried their objections to the Louisiana state legislature.  The same year, the highly satirical Krewe du Vieux made its first appearance.
1987 also marked the return of Rex to Lundi Gras, and his spectacular arrival on the Mississippi.  Once again, the Mayor met Rex on the Riverwalk and ceremoniously turned control of the city over to the King of Mardi Gras.  Befitting this new appreciation for royalty, in 1988 the British Broadcasting Company broadcast a live 4-hour special on Mardi Gras in New Orleans, one of the highest-rated shows in Great Britain at the time.  And, in June, the state legislature passed the "Coconut Bill", which once again allowed Zulu to hand down their prized collectables to their adoring fans.
Next up, the Nineties deals a blow to Carnival that has deep and lasting effects as Mardi Gras forges on to the next millenium.