The Thursday night before Mardi Gras is one of the most popular evenings of the Carnival season , with crowds of spectators lined up along the Uptown route to cheer the passing of the Babylon, Chaos and Muses parades.

But any delay to the flow of floats pushes the parades deeper into the night. During Carnival 2025, for instance, the night’s celebrations were disrupted when the breakdown of a Chaos parade delayed the trailing Muses parade, which wound up rolling into the wee hours.

On Wednesday morning, the City Council took a step toward making future late nights less likely. During the council’s Governmental Affairs Committee meeting, newly reelected council member JP Morrell introduced the discussion, proposing that the Thursday night parades begin at 4:30 p.m. instead of 5:30 p.m

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