The Krewes of Sparta and Pygmalion end the 5-parade Saturday on St. Charles. Sparta is a fairly traditional parade with masked riders – both on the floats and on the horses that lead the way. I was excited to see the flambeaux lighting the Avenue as they have since before the invention of electricity. It’d been 2 years since we’d been entertained by the guys twirling their flames for tips in any parades.
The floats featured phoenix’s and fairy queens. Crowds especially reacted to the dragons – one carried on sticks, the others worn by 2 men in tandem. Don’t ask me how the guys in the back handle the miles of parading while stooped over as the back legs. I did notice there were spare men wearing the same pants/dragon-legs, so I assume they swap out frequently. It’s amazing the lengths we will go to in order to delight the Mardi Gras crowds.
After a day of drinking in the sun, the crowd was getting less patient and pleasant, so we decided to call it and miss Krewe of Pygmalion. Besides – I needed the rest!
Next up – I dance with the Pussyfooters in Krewe of Carrolton.
L.A. to N.O.LA 
Thanks for the write ups and pics, but you definitely missed the best parade of the first weekend…….Pygmalion. It was a beautiful parade coming down the Avenue & the riders threw until their arms hurt. Where I stood the crowds didn’t thin out & when Pygmalion ended the people were definitely disappointed. Thanks again for all the effort put in to covering the parades.
Thank you for the kind words! I’m sorry we missed Pygmalion, but I was dancing in Carrollton the next day and needed to pace myself.