After Hurricane Katrina hit we all wondered if we'd see another Mardi Gras like those we used to know, but these Mardi Gras quotes should have given us some foresight. New Orleans is a town unlike any other, with a spirit that is impossible to keep down. Mother Nature did her worst, but Mardi Gras would not die quietly into the night. Let these eight Mardi Gras quotes remind us why...



1. "Mardi Gras is in our soul." ~ Kim Priez

2. "Mardi Gras will tell America that New Orleans is open for business." ~ Brian Kern

3. "If no tourists came, we'd still have Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is a state of mind." ~ Ed Muniz

4. "I started making calls a week after Katrina. The captains all said the same thing: you can take away our homes, but you can't take away our Mardi Gras." ~ Arthur Hardy

5. "New Orleans is my essence, my soul, my muse, and I can only dream that one day she will recapture her glory. I will do everything within my power to make that happen and to help in any way I can to ease the suffering of my city, my people!" ~ Harry Connick, Jr.

6. "There's a thing I've dreamed of all my life, and I'll be damned if it don't look like it's about to come true--to be King of the Zulu's parade. After that, I'll be ready to die." ~ Louis Armstrong

7. "I have trouble explaining to out-of-towners why people here spend $1,000 to wear a mask so no one knows who they are, and then give away things to people they've never met. But I guess it's an opportunity for everybody to play Santa Claus. That's at the heart of it." ~ Arthur Hardy

8. "And the glorious Night is approaching--this quaint, old-time night, star-jeweled, fantastically robed; and the blue river is bearing us fleets of white boats thronged with strangers who doubtless are dreaming of lights and music, the tepid, perfumed air of Rex's palace, and the motley route of merry ghosts, droll goblins, and sweet fairies, who will dance the dance of Carnival until blue day puts out at once the trembling tapers of the stars and the lights of the great ball." ~ Lafcadio Hearn

And there you have it - the celebration that defines the soul of a city. Some wondered if we'd ever live to see another New Orleans Mardi Gras. Some doubted if the tradition would continue to thrive. Let these eight Mardi Gras quotes remind us that you can't kill the spirit of Carnival - you can't take away something that lives in the heart of people, no matter what trials and tribulations you throw at them.