February 27 brings together three very different kinds of public attention: a citywide celebration, a star’s remarkable life, and a political crisis with far-reaching consequences. In 1827, New Orleans held its first official Mardi Gras celebration, giving the date a festive connection to a tradition rooted in public gathering and spectacle. In 1932, Elizabeth Taylor was born. A British and American actress whose career spanned more than six decades, she became one of classical Hollywood’s most popular stars, admired for her talent and glamour and remembered as well for her humanitarian work in the fight against AIDS.
The date also marks a stark turn in history. In 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin was set on fire, an event that led to the suspension of civil liberties in Nazi Germany. Set beside Mardi Gras and Taylor’s life, the fire reminds us that public spectacle can take very different forms: celebration, celebrity, or a moment of political upheaval. Late February often feels like a threshold between winter and the coming spring, and this list reflects that sense of transition in another way. Its events range from a city establishing a celebrated tradition to an individual entering the world and a nation entering a darker period.