Look at the photos on OffBeat.com. We have a tons of great Mardi Gras photos, both from local parades and from Courir de Mardi Gras, but it seemed to me, despite the beautiful weather, that there was a diminished esprit de corps than I’ve seen in recent years.

Frenchmen Street was packed, of course, but there weren’t as many pop-up bands and party trucks. The parade routes weren’t nearly as pack-jammed with people as they usually are.

We live between St. Charles and Second and Dryades, and usually there are a lot more people on the street during the day and the partying continues into the night. Not this year.

When Rex passed on St. Charles Avenue Tuesday morning, there weren’t nearly the people that are usually crowded along the parade route. The Mardi Gras Indians started early Tuesday morning on Dryades Street, but there weren’t as many folk there as usual. What was crazier is that there didn’t seem to be as many partiers at night in my ‘hood. The celebrating usually goes til late at night. Not this year.

So far today, I haven’t seen anything about this year’s Carnival breaking attendance records. But I did notice an article on a Mobile, AL web site that said that their Mardi Gras crowds were the biggest in 10 years. Hmmm…

I’m curious if visitors just chose not to come to New Orleans this year (and why?…crime stats?). Did locals not come out as much as they usually do? Of course, I don’t have proof, but I’ve talked to a few people and they all say this was a much less populated and crazy Mardi Gras than usual. Why?

One thing that occurred to me is that we could possibly be suffering from the copycat syndrome. Let’s compare Mardi Gras to Jazz Fest. Twenty years ago, the Jazz Fest was the killer mama-jama of all festivals (let’s be clear: still is, in my book). But enough people from around the world have come to the Fest and figured they could do it better (or bigger) and attendees wouldn’t have to travel as far to enjoy music, food and culture. At one time, the Jazz Fest was really the only place you could go to hear dyed-in-the-wool New Orleans and Louisiana musicians. Not so any more. There are tons of festivals all over the country that have tried to emulate the Jazz Fest, some not as successfully as others. But, you have to face sobering facts: in some ways these festivals have siphoned off some of the audience that used to schlep to New Orleans for the  authentic Jazz Fest.

It could be that the market is aging and that new attendees just don’t feel the vibe as much as the oldsters do (more’s the pity). Unless you realize why and how New Orleans is a special place to be, then music and food booths set up anywhere with New Orleans musicians might be just as satisfactory.

Maybe that’s what’s happening with Mardi Gras. The Mardi Gras “party” can be duplicated in other locations (costumes, floats, throws, crowds, even “Carnival Time.”). That’s a fact. What can’t be replicated is New Orleans itself, and maybe we haven’t concentrated enough on marketing our culture and the uniqueness of our city rather than just the party. Ditto for Jazz Fest.

There’s more to New Orleans than just the party, and the sooner we realize it, and emphasize the unique qualities and culture of this city, the better off we’ll all be.