Mardi Gras revelers packed New Orleans Saturday as large crowds turned out to watch parades and fill the French Quarter in what many viewed as another step in the long recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

Partiers, most with drink in hand, lined the sidewalks along parade routes, shouting and dancing while masked "krewe" members on passing floats tossed out beads and other trinkets in a celebration now 151 years old in New Orleans.

Local officials said hotels were near capacity and flights into the city full. Bars and restaurants reported strong business while streets in the city center were jammed with traffic. (Watch how throwing beads is a form of therapy) Video

All in all, locals said, it looked and felt more like a normal Mardi Gras than the 2006 scaled-down version, which was the first after Katrina flooded most of the city and killed 1,300 people in August 2005.

"I had a friend who rode on a float last night, and she said looking down at all the people and the fun they were having, she felt like it was back," said Joi Manthey, a chaplain for riverboat pilots.

Attendance this year is expected to be above last year -- when estimates ranged as low as 400,000 -- but still below the pre-storm level of about 1 million people.

Numbers do not tell the full story of Mardi Gras, locals say. More important is its role in the self-image and psyche of the city.