New Orleans closes out Mardi Gras with color and style in photos

New Orleans celebrates with revelry and parades as the city bids farewell to the Mardi Gras season.

The Associated Press
February 18, 2026 at 12:58AM

NEW ORLEANS, La. — New Orleans celebrates with revelry and parades as the city bids farewell to the Mardi Gras season.

Carnival events are popular for their spectacular and enormous floats, as well as the crafted outfits worn, such as Black masking Indians, whose beaded and bejeweled costumes are topped with feathered headdresses, or paradegoers walking the French Quarter in homemade costumes that capture the unique spirit of the Big Easy.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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AMY HARRIS and MATTHEW HINTON

The Associated Press

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