I haven’t been taking as many photos at night but wanted to share a few from the Krewes of Druids, Chaos and Muses. The final Wednesday of Carnival is the start of 7 straight days of parades – ending with Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). Founded in 1998, the Krewe of Ancient Druids honors the Celtic priests who acted as mediators between people and their gods and nature. The relatively small krewe of 200 masked, Merlin-capped riders remains anonymous – hidden behind masks.
Thursday is known as Thersday around here, honoring the all-female Krewe of Muses. I normally dance with my Pussyfooters sisters in Muses so I rarely get to see the Knights of Chaos parade. Their floats were an explosion of colorful creatures.
One of the disadvantages to being in a parade is you don’t get to watch it, so the upside of not dancing with the Pussyfooters was getting to see the fanciful, feminine Krewe of Muses floats. The bathtub-inspired floats are a big favorite and this year, Miss Irma Thomas, the multi-Grammy-winning Soul Queen of New Orleans, rode the giant stiletto as Honorary Muse.
The weather was pretty great most of the night, 70 and breezy. Somewhere around float 11, a wind came through and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees in 2 minutes. It was bizarre, even for our wacky weather. I was grateful not to be wet. About 2 floats later, the skies open up and doused us as temperatures dropped even further. But most of the people on our block stayed until the bitter end because… New Orleans.
Next up – Iris!
L.A. to N.O.LA 
Muses has always been my favorite parade. Because women. Because the throws are things I covet years later. As a tourist on a budget I usually leave town on the Thursday Thank you so much.
I know it’s not the same as being there, but I’m always hoping my photos and words will help capture a bit of our local magic.