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METAIRIE, La.– Mardi Gras in May? That’s what the City Council in Jefferson Parish is hoping they can do, but with the COVID-19 cases being so un-sure, no decision has been made quite yet.

Could the Krewe of Pandora and The Krewe of Little Rascals along with all other Jefferson Parish parades be moved to Memorial Day weekend in May?

Jefferson Parish Council member, Jennifer Van Vrancken came up with a plan to move all the parades and Famiy Gras to Memorial Day weekend in 2021, and she presented the plan to the council today. By May- we’d potentially be six months into the vaccines, but a safe Mardi Gras is still a must.

“This is important to us to say we are open for business and we want people to come back. All the Carnival Krewes know they must wear COVID face masks, and wear gloves when they are throwing beads off the floats,” she said.

Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said, “For us to have a good Mardi Gras the vaccinations have to come first and it is a tight timeline in April and May time frame.”

Mardi Gras Historian Errol Laborde feels the plan could work.

“It is fun to have parades, but make it like a Carnival, don’t try to make it an imitation Mardi Gras and I think it makes sense,” he said.

But he doesn’t think you can count on New Orleans krewes to want to move their parades to Jefferson Parish.

“Tradition is the big guiding hand in New Orleans. St. Charles Avenue will always be the desirable Avenue to want to have a parade,” he said.

He went on to say, “Overall in Jefferson Parish I think they should call it Jefferson Carnival and don’t use the term Mardi Gras because Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, it is like celebrating Christmas on the 4th of July.”