Next weekend the Krewe Of Cleopatra will march down the traditional Uptown-St. Charles parade route after 39 years of parading on the West Bank. The first all ladies parade this season, Cleopatra is also the only all female, night time parade that will ride on a weekend.

One NOPD officer apparently didn't get the message that the season of Do Whatcha Wanna ended at midnight on Tuesday. Around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, August Michel, 34, was arrested at a bar in the 600 block of Bourbon Street while off duty and not in uniform, according to police. While out with another officer, the 14-year veteran of the force got drunk and got into a fight with customers at the bar.

CBD - As New Orleans gets ready to open the Mardi Gras Mainline down St. Charles Ave. on Friday, Mayor Mitch gathered city officials and the press today to remind everyone that there will be police officers everywhere during Mardi Gras, that it is possible to be rude to others on the parade route and that the City of New Orleans now employs elbow grease. 

One Carnival throw that will be up for grabs in the French Quarter might not be as shiny as beads or doubloons, but it's likely to keep the fun going long into the night. Taking more cues from science than the Christian doomsayers and less aggressive than the Party Patrol, the Mardi Gras Condom Patrol is gearing up to hit the Viuex Carre streets during the final weekend leading up to Fat Tuesday, distributing safe sex kits, as well as HIV awareness.

At the mention of apple and goat cheese in a King Cake, elders of New Orleans may shriek with accusations of heresy. But no one has brought a torch to Cake Café in the Marigny yet - only their cravings for a new take on the Carnival's premier treat.

For recent performances of the Music Box Shantytown Symphony, Mr. Quintron traded his Drum Buddy for giant foam panels. If the inventor-musician seemed like a natural, it's because the move was hardly unprecedented. During Mardi Gras Quintron can often be found directing musicians on the streets as the drum major of the 9th Ward Marching Band. Now, the band's Carnival Caterwauls are available all year round, on record.