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Mardi Gras Celebration Hits Full Swing With beads, baubles, parades and food, the party of all parties reaches its fever pitch in the final hours of Fat Tuesday. NPR joins the festivities in New Orleans, Detroit and Camp Liberty, Iraq.
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Special Series

Mardi Gras Celebration Hits Full Swing

With beads, baubles, parades and food, the party of all parties reaches its fever pitch.

Celebrating Fat Tuesday, Polish Style

Every year, millions of Christians around the world celebrate the last day before Lent. For some, the day is Shrove Tuesday, for others, it's Mardi Gras. But in cities like Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Detroit, thousands of Polish Americans are celebrating Paczki Day. Detroit Public Radio's Celeste Headlee reports.

Celebrating Fat Tuesday, Polish Style

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Opinion

The Mardi Gras Parade, from a Child's Ladder

A parent's checklist: car safety seat; jogging stroller; Mardi Gras ladder. Commentator Chris Rose finds you can still have fun on Carnival in New Orleans when you're a parent — you just need a few more accessories.

The Mardi Gras Parade, from a Child's Ladder

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Les Bon Temps Roulent at Camp Liberty

As an Army officer from New Orleans explained: "You can take the brigade out of Louisiana, but you can't take Louisiana out of the brigade." Soldiers of Louisiana's 256th National Guard put on feathered masks and jester caps, hopped on military vehicles -- transformed into floats -- and paraded past their fellow soldiers tossing beads, coins and candies. It was early Mardi Gras Sunday, at Camp Liberty, Iraq.

Les Bon Temps Roulent at Camp Liberty

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'French Quarter Fiction'

A new anthology features short stories about New Orleans. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks to editor Joshua Clark about French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories of America's Oldest Bohemia. John Biguenet, whose work is featured in the collection, also joins the conversation.

'French Quarter Fiction'

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Commentary: Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Commentator Andrei Codrescu tells the story of a woman offering to show him her breasts in exchange for Mardi Gras trinkets. Codrescu offers a portrait of New Orleans in all of its glorious weirdness.

Commentary: Mardi Gras in New Orleans

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