Krewes of Oshun & Cleopatra

Carnival season is in full swing with the rolling of parades in Metairie, Downtown and the Krewes of Oshun and Cleopatra rolling Uptown. I felt like a giddy kid all day (and yesterday and…) knowing that the city streets would soon fill with families and neighbors from both sides of the river. Oshun features plenty of school bands and youth dance troupes. I love the pageantry of the royalty in their vibrantly colored gowns with giant feather collars.

Cleopatra is a welcome addition to the evening. The first Friday of parade season used to be fairly quiet with just Oshun. Crowds have grown a bit now that Cleopatra has moved from the Westbank. The Krewe covered the crowd in blinkies from beads and headbands to blinking toy swords the kids all played with in the street when the parade slowed for awhile. It was like watching a giant Star Wars light saber battle – but with adorable kids.

The Krewe provided plenty of bands. Between the 2 parades, it seemed like nearly every school in the city made a showing. There were also a number of adult dance troupes – one of my favorite things about parades. As someone who dances with the Pussyfooters (the first of these type of dance troupes), I particularly enjoyed the Oui Dats, Amelia Earhawts, Sirens, Disco Amigos and giant-lit-flower-wearing newcomers, Krewe de Fleurs (who don’t dance but are wonderful to behold).

Little time for tagging but enjoy the photos!