The Roots of Music Cultural Sculpture Garden in Louis Armstrong Park, New Orleans, LA

© jejim120/Alam

Jazzed for Mardi Gras

To celebrate the Big Easy's enduring legacy of music, we're in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans for Fat Tuesday. As Carnival season culminates today with Mardi Gras celebrations throughout the city, this historically black neighborhood adjacent to the French Quarter will come alive with the music of jazz bands like the one depicted here. The sculptural profile of a traditional marching brass band marks one entrance to Louis Armstrong Park, a community space honoring New Orleans' musical roots with a 12-foot statue of its jazz legend namesake, as well as other art pieces depicting iconic NOLA musicians.

The park is just one of many tributes to the city's complicated past as a cradle for African American creativity, and if you're in town for Mardi Gras you owe yourself a visit. But figure out that itinerary fast, because Lent is coming—and that means six-odd weeks of fasting and austerity for the pious, although we're sure plenty of this fun-loving city's denizens intend to keep the good times rolling.