Parades! ‘tit Rex, Krewe Boheme, Krewe du Vieux & Krewe Delusion

It was a gorgeous 75 and sunny day for the 10th annual ‘tit Rex parade. The miniature parade is an adult, often satirical spectacle of big creativity in tiny form. There were even people sipping little Bloody Mary’s, passing out tiny throws and cocktail umbrellas. Barbie and her friends in Mardi Gras beads crowded with their arms outstretched, their kids sitting in ladder chairs. Like my parents, people here grew up making shoebox floats in grade school and parading them down the halls, so the creations are nostalgic for many.

The weekend started with a new French Quarter walking parade from Krewe Boheme. With this year’s move of Chewbacchus, there are suddenly 2 parades preceding Krewe du Vieux – the parade long considered the unofficial start of the season. I can be resistant to change so I was set to find fault with this new Friday night offering, but I loved it! Several of the groups had truly inspired and beautiful costumes. I especially liked the people with giant, lit chandeliers as headpieces. Everything ran smoothly (though a bit fast) and like Krewe du Vieux, there were so many amazing brass bands.

Saturday, it was finally time for the blue humor of Krewe du Vieux. Over 30 years old, the parade offers takes on local politics and concerns, like our potholes, and sometimes features a giant penis or the occasional vagina. Read more about the parade’s history HERE. The bands were insane. I think I spotted New Breed Brass Band in the mix from my spot at the back of the thick crowd.

Krewedelusion followed immediately with a more family-friendly, often whimsical parade. I believe this was their 10th year rolling as well – which probably means I’ve attended every one of their parades. As much as I look forward to the giant floats and generous throws of next week’s official Carnival parades, I really love the intimacy of these neighborhood walking parades. And yes, Krewe Du Vieux has become huge with people putting out chairs to wait up to four hours on crowded curbs, but it still has the intimacy of private jokes about our city and its foibles that needed to be explained to the bewildered guests from Tennessee next to me Googling it.