The first official Mardi Gras parade of the year—Krewe du Vieux—marched through the Marigny and French Quarter Saturday night, full of its usual satiric, irreverent, and lewd floats and costumes. The theme for this year’s parade, Krewe du Vieux’s 20th, was “Crimes Against Nature”. All photos by Kim Welsh.
Tag Archives: parades
Parading Club Bands
February 1, 2012 – 12:20 am
Playing music in a parade looks like fun, but while it is, it’s also hard, sometimes thankless work. OffBeat spoke with members of four nightclub bands who, during Mardi Gras, transform into street bands. Sue Ford fronts Mardi Gras’ first rock band, Pink Slip, once an all-woman group that now includes her husband, drummer Jimmy [...]
O. Perry Walker’s Marchers
February 1, 2012 – 12:14 am
The walls of the band director’s office at O. Perry Walker High School are plastered with newspaper clippings. One, from The Times-Picayune of February 12, 2010, features a photograph of the Walker marching band with the Krewe of Alla. Another, considerably more yellowed, has them marching with the Krewe of Aladdin in 2002. And nearby, [...]
610 Stompers: Stomping to Manhattan
February 1, 2012 – 12:12 am
In a city where “parade” is a verb, noun and adjective, the Macy’s Parade seems quaint. Still, New Orleanians watched the telecast of last year’s Thanksgiving Day parade with uncommon interest because the 610 Stompers were invited to be a part of it this year. The all-male dance crew started in the summer of 2009 [...]
Krewe of Muses’ Mardi Gras Throws
February 1, 2012 – 12:12 am
Plush? “You can never have enough plush.” Coozies? “You can never have enough coozies.” It’s a month from Mardi Gras and Virginia Saussy’s going over the throws for this year’s Muses parade. Saussy’s the creative director for the Krewe of Muses, and she’s fidgeting, trying to relax and talk in the living room of her [...]
‘tit Rex: A Regal Matter?
February 1, 2012 – 12:05 am
It’s hard to imagine a more literal case of someone picking on the “little guy” than this: the powerful Krewe of Rex has pushed the satirical Krewe of ‘tit Rex (‘tit being a common Cajun shortening of “petit”) into altering its name due to perceived copyright issues. ‘tit Rex parades through the Bywater with shoebox-based [...]
Mountains of Garbage
February 1, 2012 – 12:02 am
It’s Mardi Gras time again, the citywide festival that is the linchpin of everything New Orleans. Mardi Gras krewes create their own little worlds of fun and traditions, all for the practice of being in a social club that excludes other “inferior” mortals. It’s been that way since the holiday started and it persists today. [...]
YouTube du Jour: O. Perry Walker Marching Band
January 30, 2012 – 11:48 am
Our new issue hits the streets today with the O. Perry Walker Marching Band on the cover. Zachary Young’s cover story talks about what goes into getting ready for Mardi Gras, and here’s footage of them performing “What’s on Your Mind” by Information Society during last year’s Carnival.
Lady Rollers and Big Nine Second Lines Roll Saturday and Sunday: Routes and Maps
December 16, 2011 – 3:43 pm
This weekend features two second lines, with the Lady Rollers parade scheduled for Saturday, December 17 to avoid conflicting with Christmas next Sunday. The Big Nine parade is in the regular Sunday second line slot, marching through the Upper and Lower Ninth Ward. Uptown, the Lady Rollers Social Aid & Pleasure Club’s 16th-annual parade starts [...]
The Bearded Oysters Coast to Coast
November 1, 2011 – 12:04 am
Seven years ago, the irreverent parade group The Bearded Oysters formed “as a social club for women who wanted to share in the New Orleans parading experience,” says founder Katrina Brees. “Over the years, the Bearded Oysters have expanded to include more than 500 women of all ages, races, occupations, and interests to create a [...]
