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Is always one of the most influential resident moss and te group is involved in civicd ic o organizations philanthropy. it srganns not just a party for, but the grand marshals identity of the rex crew is kept secret until the monday before mardin gras. and then traditionally the mayor of new orleans handst rex, a symbolic key to the city. it s filled with lots ofmbol o pageantrciy, an enormous histor on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversar y of rex.to i m about to meet somebody all who knows all about the king of carnival. dr. stephen hales is an archivist at rex. is histor he knows its history better than anyone. ng it is the most important thing v that americans who ve never maybnever e been in new orleansy and they think of mardi gras as a bunch of drunks on bourbon street throwing up in trash cans. what do they nee whad to undersd about the spirit that goes beyond allbe the bacchanalian c and partying? the celebration bringelebons ....
And it not only sustainsin the economy, but it y,s sustain the life of artists that hav e these and keep these unique. when you walk through the relaxium and you see these beautiful floats ready to go, g our artists are working this,o. then this weird artist s studio for a whole year to prepare those floats. they ll be on the street forwe a few hours, then they ll comek back in. we ll take them apar t. it ll be like it s a crazy business model. bu itt it s what we ve done here for 150 years. there is no otheyearr placs e, only in america, but this is a s hidden gem of a world. we ll continue to build on it. i hope we ref doing for another hundred fifty years. that would be something to celebrate. that w. stephen hales, thank yoo much. pleasure to be with you. what many may not realize is that mardi gras isn t just a time to party, but also a time of religious reflectionfn and alms giving. monsignor christopher nalty broke it all down for us . great to see you. we just heard a lot ....