Joel Taylor can barely make his way down the streets of downtown New Orleans.

‘The streets are packed with people waiting for the parades and people waiting to party,’ he says.

Taylor, senior in political science, arrived in New Orleans on Monday to attend the National Model United Nations Conference.

‘Everyone”s set to party,’ says Taylor. ‘Lots of people are decked out in beads and hats.’

The scene downtown varies slightly from what Kim Campbell remembers. Campbell, senior in anthropology, lived in New Orleans as a child and attended Mardi Gras celebrations in the suburbs, which she describes as less chaotic than downtown.

The crowds were just as big and would still be three or four people deep, she says.

‘People might get caught up in the moment, but it was calmer [than downtown],’ Campbell says. ‘[Downtown] was really crazy and full of people. More tourists go to the parties; the locals tend to celebrate in the suburbs.’

The beads and booze that have become the stereotypical part of the phenomenon of Mardi Gras are a far cry from the celebration”s religious origins.

Mardi Gras originated as a last attempt to use up the butter, meat, sugar and other foods that might spoil during the 40-day Lent fasting. This is how the day got nicknamed ‘Fat Tuesday.’

John Donaghy, campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, says Mardi Gras has become a present-day cultural manifestation rather than a religious manifestation.

‘The craziness of beads is not particularly related to religious observances,’ Donaghy says.

The most well-known Mardi Gras celebration is in New Orleans, famous for its colorful parades and masked partygoers. Over the years, the event has never had a corporate or city sponsor, but that doesn”t mean the event has avoided commercial opportunities.

The solemnity and seriousness of Mardi Gras has been affected in part by the media, especially MTV and the ‘Girls Gone Wild’ series, says Bobby LeBlanc, business administrator for St. Thomas Aquinas.

LeBlanc, a Louisiana native, calls New Orleans ‘a very Catholic city’ and says that for those from New Orleans, the celebration still holds its significance.

‘[The religiosity of Mardi Gras] is lost from the outside looking in, but for the people in New Orleans, it isn”t lost,’ he says. ‘It”s not just a party.’

LeBlanc says the media has contributed to the misconception that Mardi Gras is a drunken party.

For organizers and local participants of Mardi Gras, the celebration is much more serious than that.

‘Mardi Gras is the last chance to cut loose and have a good time, but the next day, Mardi Gras is over and New Orleans is serious about Lent,’ LeBlanc says.

Those in Ames who wish to celebrate Mardi Gras don”t need to travel to Louisiana to do it.

To help ISU students celebrate Fat Tuesday, nine Campustown bars are

joining forces to throw a Mardi Gras bash that could rival the stories brought back from party-hungry friends making the trip to New Orleans.

Registration for the bar crawl begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Welch Avenue clock tower.

The pub crawl will feature a contest with a $500 prize, as well as drink specials.