Mardi Gras Store

MardiGrasStore.com has been getting ready for the upcoming holiday seasons. We are proud to present some new products that will help you celebrate Halloween and Christmas with a little New Orleans spirit.

Also in this issue we begin a series of reports about the history of Mardi Gras, and the economic impact it has on the New Orleans area. We have changed the format of this newsletter to make it easier for you to read. The sections in this issue are:

New Products
Mardi Gras 2001 Update
The History of Mardi Gras
The Economic Impact of Mardi Gras
Joining Our Affiliate Program

New Products
If you've visited us recently, you may have noticed that our site has a new look. We've made it easier than ever for you to find the products you want.

Thanks to your feedback, we have added these exciting new items to the site.

Halloween and Christmas Beads
Beads are festive and can be worn for any occasion. That is why we've added 5 new selections to our bead page.

For Halloween, we now offer a Jack O'Lantern Witch Bead, a Black Cat and Pumpkin Bead, and an Orange and Black Mix Bead. Instead of handing out candy to the kids this year, you can give them trick or treat beads! Take a look at our Halloween bead selection here.

For Christmas, we now offer a Stocking Stuffer Santa Bead, and sets of Red, Green, Pearl Twist Beads. These beads are made of high quality materials and are perfect for stocking stuffers and holiday attire. Check out our Christmas bead selection here.

Gift Packages
We have rearranged our gift packages to give you a better selection at a lower price. These gift packages are the perfect gift for someone who could use a little New Orleans flair in their lives.

Priced as low as $20.00 (including shipping), these items are the perfect gift for any occasion. Check out our expanded selection here.

Mardi Gras Music
So you have the beads, the king cake, and masks, but where is the music? Now you can buy Mardi Gras music on our website. We have chosen four of the city's best sellers, and four value discs with music such as "Mardi Gras Mambo," "Go to New Orleans," and songs by The Mardi Gras Indians. Whichever one you decide to buy it will definitely "jazz" up your next party! These CDs will appear on our website in September.

Mardi Gras 2001 Update
So you plan on making the trip to New Orleans this February? We suggest you start making your travel plans today. We have priced airfare from major U.S. cities, and hotel rates in New Orleans to help you in your travel plans. These prices were compiled using Travelocity.com.

Airfare

New York City to New Orleans: From $253 to $331
Buffalo, NY to New Orleans: From $431 to $1,054
Los Angeles to New Orleans: From $452 to $534
San Francisco to New Orleans: From $400 to $728
Seattle to New Orleans: From $519 to $1010
St. Louis to New Orleans: From $371 to $1083
Columbus, OH to New Orleans: From $327 to $521
Denver to New Orleans: From $424 to $622
Dallas to New Orleans: From $253 to $585
San Antonio to New Orleans: From $182 to $708

Prices are round-trip, based on a February 23rd departure date, and returning to your home city on February 28th.

Accommodations
Hotels in New Orleans are even harder to come by. Most hotels in the French Quarter, Central Business District, Downtown and Uptown fill up quickly. Hotels in the surrounding suburbs of Metairie, Kenner, and Slidell may be cheaper. However, these hotels will present considerable transportation problems. Taxi fares can cost well over $20, and traffic is always congested before and after parades. We suggest spending the extra money on a quality hotel near the French Quarter. Public transportation is easily accessible, and the atmosphere is energetic and festive. Here are some of the cheaper rooms available. Keep in mind that most hotels require a 5-night minimum during the Carnival season. We suggest making reservations before October in order to guarantee availability.
Rates are based on 2 people staying from February 23rd to February 28th.

Andrew Jackson Hotel: 919 Royal Street. Price range per night: $165, $175, $240
(504) 561-5881
Bed and Beverage: 612 St. Philip Street. Price range per night: $240 - $265
(504) 588-1483
Maison Dupuy Hotel: 1001 Rue Toulouse. Price range per night: $239 - $259
(504) 586-8000.
Holiday Inn: 124 Royal Street. Prices starting at: $309
(504) 529-2211
Omni Hotel: 621 St. Louis Street. Prices starting at: $339
(504) 529-5333

The History of Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras in New Orleans dates back to the late 1600’s. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is the culmination of 3 weeks' worth of celebration in the New Orleans area. A variety of activities such as Mardi Gras parades, carnival balls, and parties give everyone an opportunity to take part in the revelry.

Mardi Gras’ official colors are green, gold and purple. The color green signifies faith, the gold justice, and purple denotes power. The Mardi Gras season officially begins on January 6th, known as the Feast of the Epiphany, and ends on midnight of Mardi Gras Day.

One unmistakable sign that indicates the arrival of the Carnival season is the availability of the King Cake in local bakeries. The king cake is an oval shaped bakery delicacy that is similar to sweetened brioche. They are all sprinkled with green, gold and purple sugar and come in a variety of fruit fillings. Each king cake has a small plastic baby baked into it. Tradition has it that whoever gets the piece with the baby in it has to host the next party and buy the next cake.

Fat Tuesday is a day that is filled with back-to-back Mardi Gras parades. Locals and visitors often dress up in costume or walk around in masks to commemorate the day. Traditional throws for Mardi Gras parades include beads, cup, doubloons, plastic toys, and last but not least, the prized Zulu coconut.

Next year, Mardi Gras Day falls on February 27, 2001. But, you don’t have to wait until then to have a Mardi Gras celebration of your own. You can charter your own parade complete with beads and throws, plan a traditional king cake party, or host a "mask"erade party for you and your friends. We’ve got everything you need to help you bring all of the fun of Mardi Gras to your front door.

The Economic Impact of Mardi Gras
The following figures and data have been prepared for the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Advisory Committee by James J. McLain, Ph.D., Economic Consultant, The University of New Orleans.

Last year 932,865 tourists visited the city of New Orleans to participate in Carnival activities.
Collectively, they spent $402,130,410 in Orleans Parish.
Overall parade attendance during the Carnival season was 5,527,865 people.
Carnival spending in metropolitan New Orleans increased 300% between 1986 and 1999.

Join Our Affiliate Program
MardiGrasStore.com has a new affiliate program where you can earn money by selling our products on your site. We have created many text links, banner ads, and product graphics for you to place on your site. Whenever one of your site's visitors goes to MardiGrasStore.com from one of these links and buys a product, you earn money!

As a MardiGrasStore.com affiliate you are entitled to certain privileges.

1. You earn 7% of sales made to visitors from your site.
2. You receive a free gift from MardiGrasStore.com the first time you generate a sale.
3. You can rest assured that our commitment to affiliate support is at an all time high.
For more information or to join, visit our affiliate information page at http://www.mardigrasstore.com/affiliate. We Value Our Customers!

It is our promise to you that our email lists will NEVER be sold, submitted, or transferred to another company. We value our customers and appreciate your interest in our products.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please contact us at contact@mardigrasstore.com or call 1-800-259-8954.