Where to see Downtown Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans

In case you missed the Uptown Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indian parade on March 24, you have another opportunity to catch one of the city’s greatest street spectacles.

On April 7, scores of Black masking Indians will gather on the south end of Bayou St. John, to suit up for the annual Downtown Super Sunday procession that starts at noon.

Each year, craftsmen spend countless hours creating new, elaborately beaded suits, gushing with psychedelically colored feathers. Each suit has a theme that can touch on anything from Wild West legends, to traditional African imagery, to wildlife, or pop culture. The custom unites age-old African and Native American customs into a display unseen anywhere else in the world.

Some participants describe themselves as Mardi Gras Indians, while other prefer Black Indian maskers or other terms.

The intricate suits are artworks in their own right. But the tradition also includes unique, age-old chanting and rituals that play out along the route.

Despite the incredible investment of time, labor and money, the suits are typically worn on only a few special occasions, including their debut on Mardi Gras morning, an annual outing on St. Joseph’s night, during the springtime Super Sunday marches, and sometimes at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and other performance venues. After the season ends, the stunning creations are retired and sometimes disassembled.

The colorful march begins at noon on Orleans Avenue at Bayou St. John, heading toward the river. It turns left on North Broad Street, right on St. Bernard Avenue, and left on North Dorgenois Street, ending at Hardin Playground.