Krewes of Druids and Nyx Parades 2020

Wednesday starts 7 straight days of parades ending with Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). Things used to get off to a quiet start with just the Krewe of Ancient Druids rolling, and mostly locals sparsely dotting St. Charles. Once the all-female Super Krewe of Nyx joined the lineup in 2012, the crowds have gotten thicker by the year. Whereas Druids is a smaller krewe with less than 200 members, the Krewe of Nyx boasts thousands of members in over 40 floats – all with treasured hand-made glittery purses to give to a lucky few along with the tons of beads and female-friendly throws.

Surrounded by children, I didn’t catch many throws in the beginning but then something amazing happened. Float 9 slowed in front of us and a woman on the top tier motioned that she was throwing something to me. It didn’t look like a purse but I definitely wanted the big, glittery object. When it landed perfectly in my grasp, I realized it was her personal headpiece – an ode to the Superdome, both the Saints and LSU’s #9 quarterbacks, and the referee no-call of 2019. I felt like I’d just won Mardi Gras. I’ve been to hundreds of parades and I’ve never seen that happen. I’ve only even heard of it happening at the end of the route, not the middle where we stood.

Dance groups included the Sirens, Muff-A-Lottas, and the famous and fabulous 610 Stompers, as well as my own krewe – the pretty-in-pink Pussyfooters!

Then things got… tragic. Apparently a woman tried to run between tandem floats and was killed by float 21. After float 20, a couple of bands passed and that was that. The Druids had ended their parade with an empty float for the firefighters who are in dispute with the city. Normally parades end with a firetruck, so we found the tribute important, but a little sad since we all miss the trucks. It’s just beyond awful that the Krewe of Nyx ended as it did.

Next, I’ll be dancing in Muses with the Pussyfooters.