NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Mardi Gras costumes were sparse but so were the crowds Tuesday as the annual extravaganza of parades and parties arrived earlier than usual because of a quirk in the calendar.
"I never saw this few people before," Roshawn Gilmore, 27, said as the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club parade began about five blocks away from the spot he and his family had staked out before dawn on St. Charles Avenue.
Long rows of empty chairs marked off some spaces on the normally jammed parade route, where families usually send at least one person early to stake out spaces for Fat Tuesday. Much of the prized curb space in the Garden District was wide open.
The problem was partly that Fat Tuesday, the Bacchanalian blowout held the day before the start of Lent, is the earliest this year it's been in 15 years -- so far from spring break that it kept much of the college crowd away.
And while Tuesday was cloudy but mild, with a temperature of around 70, rain had fallen Monday and during the night, turning some spots muddy.
There was even plenty of room to walk in the French Quarter, normally jammed elbow-to-elbow on Mardi Gras.
"It's definitely off," said Fallon Daunhauer, a bartender at Johnny White's in the French Quarter for 21 years. "I think both things hurt. It's not the best weather and it's so early. Too close to Christmas, not close enough to spring break to get the college kids in."
Fat Tuesday has 11 parades, beginning with Zulu and continuing until dark.
Gilmore said his family arrived on the parade route about 5 a.m. Tuesday. "We normally get here a lot earlier, but just decided to come late this year and it worked OK," he said.
Some people had been there since Monday night, equipped with grills, ice chests, tables covered with chafing dishes and decorations in Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.
"Rain? Who cares," said Tina Black, 30, of Los Angeles. "As long as it doesn't get cold. I have a really skimpy costume and I hate cold." "You're either ready or you stay home. It's no place for the weak," said Paul Perrin, 22, of Dallas.
Fireworks, the lavish Orpheus parade headed by musician Harry Connick Jr., and concerts by the Mississippi River were among the attractions Monday night.
No violence was reported Monday, one day after a man was shot along a parade route near the French Quarter.
