The countdown to Mardi Gras is under way in New Orleans.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu planned to note the beginning of the Carnival season with a news conference today. It's planned at a riverside warehouse where many of the floats for Carnival parades are on display.
And revelers known as the Phorty Phunny Phellows scheduled their annual streetcar ride through town tonight. It's a decades-old tradition marking the 12th night after Christmas and the official start of the season.
Mardi Gras falls on February 17 this year.
