Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy Encourages Culture Bearers to Stay Safe on St. Joseph's Day

In observance of St. Joseph's Day (Friday, March 19), the Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy wants to acknowledge the challenges faced by the Mardi Gras Indians, Baby Dolls, and other culture bearers who annually look forward to St. Joseph's Day but have had to adjust their traditions due to the restrictions in place due to COVID-19.

This past year has been difficult for all of our residents, but in many ways our city’s traditional culture has been hardest hit. Without the ability to safely gather in large numbers, so many of our traditions have been impacted. On this St. Joseph’s Day, we all miss seeing Mardi Gras Indians, Baby Dolls, and other traditional culture bearers congregate and mask on the streets. But COVID-19 is still a threat and we still need to stay safe.

The City of New Orleans wants to remind our culture bearers to follow the health and safety guidelines. Read more about those guidelines here. Please continue to stay vigilant to the dangers of the virus, which has impacted our traditional cultural communities the hardest, and get vaccinated when it becomes available to you. Register for the vaccine waitlist here.

Culture bearers embody the New Orleans’ spirit, and preserving the health of that spirit is something we can all get behind.