New Orleans Mardi Gras hits its stride

New Orleans was abuzz with revelers and massive parade floats as the city celebrated Mardi Gras.

Thousands turned out to mark the end to the season of indulgence and the start of the somber Lenten season with a parade down Bourbon Street. Revelers perched on the balconies overlooking the famed street tossed strands of Mardi Gras beads to partygoers.

One partygoer in a court jester mask joked that he had "earned every one" of the nearly a dozen beads around his neck. It's an unofficial but well known custom for partygoers to toss strands of beads at female revelers who bare their breasts.

The city known for indulgence held true to its name with flamboyant costumes, dancing and drinking. New Orleans appeared to be trying to forget the two disasters of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill that have devastated the region over the past few years.

Weeks after Mardi Gras last year, an explosion on a BP oil platform created a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, dealing serious blow to the city's tourism and seafood industries. The pollution from the oil spill scared off potential visitors and diners with tales of oil damage.

This year the hotels were near capacity again, the planes were full and the French Quarter was buzzing.

Tourism officials said it is too early to tell if New Orleans and Mardi Gras have completely recovered from the Katrina and the BP spill.

Last November, BP committed $30 million USD to help tourism and another $30 million USD to promote the state's seafood, mainly through the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

Using money previously received from BP, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a $5 million USD public relations and advertising campaign across major U.S. markets last June to counter the visitor decline from the oil spill.

Mardi Gras is later this year and coincides with Spring Break at many colleges and universities, which has also helped to attract more visitors.