The Bonfire, New Years Eve
Midcity New Orleans
January 1st, 2006
Located near Bayou St. John and between what used to be called Bayou Tchoupitoulas, the area around Orleans Avenue in Mid-City has always been high ground in New Orleans. During Katrina this area remained dry for a few blocks on each side of Orleans Avenue. This allowed residents of the area to continue their neighborhood tradition of dragging their Christmas trees into the Neutral Ground, piling them high, and lighting them on fire at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.
The fog was thick this year, and the smoke from fireworks hung low and heavy, giving the entire event an eerie “pagan-like” feel, as my friend Mario, a long-time bonfire veteran, noted.
This is one of those singular events in New Orleans that makes it special. Try this is anywhere else and you’ve got a riot or record numbers of arrests. Here, it’s just another party.