The official New Orleans Mardi Gras parades were canceled in 1979 because of a police strike.
The New Orleans Police Department walked off the job during Carnival, leaving the city without its usual police coverage. Organizers canceled the official parades in New Orleans or moved some events to nearby communities, including parts of Jefferson Parish.
The cancellation did not end Mardi Gras celebrations altogether. Residents and visitors still gathered, and costumed festivities continued, particularly in the French Quarter. National Guard troops maintained order, but their role differed from normal police enforcement.
A common mix-up is 2021, when New Orleans prohibited parades because of COVID-19 concerns. That was the first large-scale parade cancellation since the 1979 strike, making the two dates easy to confuse.