updated 12:24 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - Roger Evans knows there are local residents who plan to leave town during Mardi Gras. But he does just the opposite. He stays in town and takes vacation time to be sure he doesn't miss a minute of the big party.

"I like to see everybody walk the street and having a good time. We've been going to the same spot on the parade route for 44 years. Even if I don't see someone the rest of the year, they know where they can find us on Mardi Gras day," he said.

For Evans, Fat Tuesday, the final day of Carnival before Lent, is a combination of party, reunion and tradition. The date this year will be Feb. 20.

"I watch for Zulu, then go to my friends' house, eat a little grub, have a little drink, and head out to find the Indians," Evans said, referring to two of the traditional parades.

For others, it's a day spent camped out along a parade route, catching gaudy beads thrown from maskers on floats. The meal of the day varies from hamburgers and hot dogs to red beans and crawfish. And, oh yes, beer, lots of beer.

Although the raucous party in the French Quarter, with revelers trading flashes of flesh for strings of beads, has become well known, it is only one of the many faces of Mardi Gras.

Families show up early along St. Charles Avenue, staking out choice viewing spots on the streetcar tracks. Many bring tents, cots, chairs, coolers and grills. By the time the Krewe of Zulu parade rolls on the morning of Fat Tuesday, revelers are elbow to elbow.

Last year the city staged a scaled-back Mardi Gras, stirring controversy about the propriety of holding the party after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and killed 1,698 people.

The reduced celebration was supposed to show that New Orleans was on its way back. Certainly Mardi Gras is.

"I think this year things will be very close to normal, pre-Katrina status," said Arthur Hardy, publisher of the definitive guide to the season, the "Mardi Gras Guide."

If You Go MARDI GRAS IN NEW ORLEANS: Feb. 20. Parade schedule, hotel booking at http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/. Other Web sites include http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/arthur/ and http://www.mardigrasday.com/ NEW ORLEANS TOURISM: New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, or 504-566-5003.

In New Orleans that means parades must have a minimum of 14 floats and seven bands.

Parading begins more than a month before Mardi Gras. There are also boat parades, children's parades and even a parade for dogs - the Krewe of Barkus - and their owners in costume.

The less public side of Carnival is the masked balls, at which the city's elite and elite-for-an-evening reign as figurative monarchs over the society debut of young men and women.

Though a couple of parading organizations, known as krewes, have canceled parades this year, another 53 are scheduled in New Orleans and its neighboring parishes before the party comes to an end at midnight on Feb. 20.

American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will reign as the Krewe of Endymion's grand marshal for the 2007 Carnival season. Endymion will move down historic St. Charles Avenue on Feb. 17, one of 18 parades scheduled to roll in New Orleans between Feb. 16 and 20.

That's also when the revelry in the French Quarter gears up with people staking out balconies along Bourbon Street and clubs running 24 hours a day.

"I'd advise people to give some thought to what kind of Mardi Gras they're interested in," Hardy said. "If they're bringing the family they should go to St. Charles Avenue or out to Jefferson Parish. Those are both going to have family atmospheres."

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