New Orleans prepares for the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras

With the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Feb. 3 and Mardi Gras falling just nine days later, the city is gearing up for a massive celebration and influx of tourists that locals are calling “Super Gras.”

Workers put up signage for the upcoming Super Bowl on the Superdome in New Orleans.

A replica of the Mercedes Benz Superdome is in the final stages of design at Mardi Gras World warehouse.

Hospitality is king in New Orleans whether the city is hosting major sports events, the annual Mardi Gras or thousands of visitors who have dropped in for a fun weekend.

Chef John Besh held the “French Crawfish Boil,” which includes Spanish tarragon and Tennessee truffles in his restaurant, “August,” in New Orleans.

Volunteer Gail Dusenberry of Clyde, N.C.. worked on Artist Stephan Wanger”s bead mosaic “Paragons of New Orleans” at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans.

Wanger posed in front of his bead mosaic, which will be 42 feet wide by 8 feet high and contain approximately 1.5 million recycled beads.

Waiters took a break at Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter.

Workers continued work on street car track construction on Loyola Ave.

Streetcars moved through downtown New Orleans.

Workers poured a new sidewalk on Royal Street in the French Quarter section.

A ferry boat crossed the Mississippi River from Downtown to Algiers.

Rex, the King of Carnival rode in the Krewe of Rex during last year’s Mardi Gras.

Revelers threw beads from the balcony of the Royal Sonesta Hotel onto crowds on Bourbon Street last year.