Mardi Gras in New Orleans typically means large celebrations, parades rolling one after another featuring elaborate floats and revelers dancing throughout the streets. This year, health and safety measures related to the pandemic have forced a re-imaging of the city’s signature event – which falls on Feb. 16 – but tourism officials are quick to note: “It doesn’t mean Mardi Gras is cancelled.”

For locals there won’t be any parades, with decorated houses becoming “floats,” but a smattering of live socially distanced, small crowd events and activities will still be available. And for others, a host of virtual events, boasting the creativity that New Orleans is known for, are designed to ensure that “the spirit of Mardi Gras lives on!”

Here are some of the opportunities to create your own Mardi Gras at home:

• Listen to a curated Mardi Gras playlist on Spotify lends a soundtrack to the event, featuring 16 local favourites from Fats Domino to the Meters.

• Tune in to “Mardi Gras For Y’All” on Nola.com Feb. 12-14 for a three-night, four-and-a-half-hour spectacle that will provide an insiders tour all the moving parts that make Mardi Gras an inclusive experience lead by Hoda Kotb, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Saints legend Archie Manning, and others.

• Royal Sonesta New Orleans will host its annual “Greasing of the Poles” at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 as a virtual event, with audiences invited to join the revelry via a watch party on the hotel’s Facebook page. This year’s theme, “Mardi Gras MASKerade,” incorporates the importance of safety into an event made famous by irreverent, audacious performances.

• Commander’s Palace Wine & Cheese Show is bringing a Mardi Gras Extravaganza to homes across the country on Feb. 10.

• Zapp’s and NewOrleans.com have given individuals the chance to win a curated Mardi Gras in a Box prize package. For those who don’t want to wait to see if they’ve won, retailers are offering a limited collection of festive, fun boxes for purchase.

• Throughout February, both in-person and virtual workshops will be taking place at the Sazerac House. Drink and learn about Carnival traditions, participate in a mask-making workshop or watch a cocktail demonstration from home.

• Learn to make favourite dishes of Mardi Gras from the comfort and safety of home with a virtual cooking class from the New Orleans School of Cooking.

• The Krewe of Bacchus has created a free, interactive app with virtual games and real-life prizes. Join a “mini parade” for the chance to capture digital throws redeemable for doubloons, bicycles and more. Download from Google Play or the App Store.