New Orleans ? Revelers undeterred by downpours donned soggy costumes and cheered along parade routes as Mardi Gras reached its typically boisterous climax Tuesday.

The festivities ended a bizarre Carnival season that included two deaths and a Mississippi River accident that stranded hundreds of cruise ship passengers during the city’s busiest week.

With low clouds drizzling intermittent rain, packs of people in costumes strolled the French Quarter, begging for beads and posing for photos. Others cheered as the “Rex” parade, known as the king of parades during Carnival, rolled along Canal Street.

Parade routes still had good-sized crowds as revelers trudged along, sometimes in the muddy median. But generally the crowds appeared a bit thinner than in previous years. Few complained, however, because it was easier to mill about and there was still plenty to see.

Businesses gave Carnival mixed reviews, however.

“I think the rain messed us up a little,” said Jessica Harmon, selling beer just off Bourbon Street.

Rain also forced cancellation Monday night of the 112-year-old “Proteus” parade.

Carnival takes place before the fasting and penitence of Lent, the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

Two people died this year during Carnival: a woman attending a gala who fell from a 20-foot-high platform Saturday, and another woman hit by a stray bullet last Wednesday.

A float in the Rex parade winds its way through the streets of the central business district in New Orleans. Tuesday was the culmination of the Mardi Gras season, which ended at midnight.