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As Mardi Gras festivities begin, a woman catches a string of beads on Bourbon Street Friday in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Sobering reminders of loss were mixed with the parades and parties planned throughout the weekend and culminating on Tuesday. Thursday's all-woman Krewe of Muses parade culminated with an empty float to symbolize the thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the city Aug. 29 of last year.