Abbreviated Mardi Gras 2006

Many people know of the Six Day War between Israel and Egypt in 1967, but how about the Six Day Mardi Gras of 2006? That's what New Orleans city officials are calling it. The usual 2 weeks of parades , balls and sundry other Mardi Gras activities in February this year will be a shortened 6 days of...I am not sure what.
For instance, the tradition of Mardi Gras here is for daily parades by privately financed krewes. But those krewes are seriously depleted in number following Hurricane Katrina. Who will pay for and ride the floats in those Mardi Gras parades? How many floats could the krewe afford? What bands and other marching participants would participate? Such questions remain to be answered. But New Orleans officials say they will try this curtailed from Feb. 23-Feb 28th in order to draw some tourists and reveal the boredom and anxieties residents are feeling post Hurricane Katrina.
Because the city police and sanitation departs are understaffed there is no alternative to the shortened season. Policing Carnival normally costs the city of New Orleans millions of dollars in overtime pay, but at this time the broken city is too broke to pay for that. Too, many of the krewes will have to combine their members to staff the parades. So from the 34 parades in the city's Mardi Gras (each area around New Orleans also has a carnival.
I suspect my suburb will put on a more near normal show than will New Orleans) last year there will be about about 8 to 10 in February. One danger in trying to hold the parades and other Mardi Gras events this year is talk that the long time ban on business or government sponsorship of parades or individual floats may have to be lifted in order to pay for the parades. We have always wanted Mardi Gras to be created and paid for privately as the sometimes called "Greatest Free Show on Earth". Once commercialization is allowed there is fear that it will become a permanent part of, and taint the openness of Mardi Gras celebrations.
I think people in New Orleans will probably push for a "normal" Mardi Gras schedule. But this is not practical, given that the city itself hardly even exists. Having a scaled down version may be a tonic of relief for the locals, making it seem more that New Orleans is alive and has a future again.