COVINGTON — Despite 59 arrests Friday and Saturday, this year's Mardi Gras in MainStrasse Village was better organized than the rowdy event two years ago, police and residents said.

        “It went incredibly well,” said Molly Navin, a resident of Covington's Mutter Gottes neighborhood and a critic of the 2000 MainStrasse Village Association's Mardi Gras.

        “I'm giving all the credit to the police department, the fire department and (City Manager) Greg Jarvis. They sat and listened to the residents, and they were really tuned into what our concerns were.”

        Last year, Covington officials canceled the public Mardi Gras celebration after residents complained of vandalism, litter and drunken celebrants urinating in their yards.

        This year, Covington Police Capt. Dave Finan said police went into the event better prepared.

        “The last time, the crowd overwhelmed us,” Capt. Finan said. “This time, we had a bigger compliment of officers and we were a lot more organized.”

        This year's crowd size, though fairly large and attracted by warm weather, was nothing near the 60,000 people who turned out at the Mardi Gras that got out of hand two years ago. Organizers said the total number of tickets sold over the weekend was about 9,500. Four thousand tickets were sold Friday night and 5,500 tickets were sold Saturday night. Between 38 and 42 officers worked the two-day event this year — an increase from about 20 two years ago. Most of the past weekend's 59 arrests were for alcohol intoxication and disorderly conduct, Capt. Finan said.

        A man who bit off the tip of another celebrant's nose during a fight was charged with felony assault, Capt. Finan said.

        “The officers were not going to take a whole lot off anybody,” Capt. Finan said. “They tried to stop things before they got started.”

        Mr. Jarvis's office received no complaints about the festival Monday.

        Representatives of the MainStrasse Village Association said the only complaint they received concerned a float that was parked in front of a Main Street business on Friday.

        When Ms. Navin visited the festival area Sunday morning, she said the portable toilets had been removed, the beer tent had been taken down, and the area was cleaned up.

        Ms. Navin said that she and other critics of the 2000 Mardi Gras felt that their voices were heard in planning this year's event.

        “In short of getting rid of (Mardi Gras) altogether, we were really pleased,” Ms. Navin said. “What we didn't think of, the city did.”

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