Riding in the St. Patrick’s Irish Channel Parade

Established in 1947, the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club‘s Irish Channel Parade features over-1400 walkers, mostly wearing black suits and/or kilts with green accessories, who swap kisses (mostly on the cheek) for flowers and trinkets. Also included are bagpipers, the green-afroed women of Alter Egos, and the wigged, blue-stripe-painted, kilt-wearing men of the Braveheart Warriors Marching Club. But the parade is best known for the dozens of double-decker floats throwing everything from beads to cabbages – and this year I was one of the people throwing!

Fat Tuesday 2023 – Costumes!!!

Everywhere else it’s just Tuesday, but in New Orleans it’s the explosive fireworks finale of over a month of festivities ending in 7 straight days of parades. There are plenty of Uptown parades on Fat Tuesday – the Krewe of Zulu and Krewe of Rex are 2 of the city’s oldest, but after attending dozens of parades (and me dancing with the Pussyfooters in 2 of them), for us – Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday in French) is for wandering the French Quarter and Marigny taking in all the silly, imaginative and/or beautiful costumes people create. For my husband, it’s his favorite day of the year and he can spend weeks conceiving and preparing his ideas. This year was his most spectacular creation – the St. Louis Cathedral.

Krewes of Proteus & Orpheus Parades 2023

Lundi Gras is the last night of the big Uptown float parades. The oldest night parade is Krewe of Proteus – established in 1882. From what I can see, the beautiful floats still sit atop the original wooden chassis. Everyone I knew was too beat to go out or was conserving their energy for the Fat Tuesday merrymaking, so I went by myself.

My first full Carnival season after moving here was in 2010, when the Saints won the Super Bowl DURING the Mardi Gras festivities. It was amazing – and I blogged all about it – complete with videos! I attended dozens of parades, many of them alone. But I was never solo for long.

Krewe of Thoth with the Pussyfooters 2023

I’ve often said my favorite way to see our city is from inside a parade and Carnival season gave me 2 opportunities this year – Carrollton and the Krewe of Thoth. Thoth, founded in 1947, has a longer Uptown route designed to pass hospitals and other care facilities people have trouble leaving for a parade. Their 2,500-plus riders on 50 floats are named for the Egyptian God of wisdom – creator of science, measurement and writing, 

I dance with the Pussyfooters, over 100 women-over-30 in pink wigs and corsets dancing in white combat boots.

Krewe of Tucks 2023

A favorite of kids of all ages, the Krewe of Tucks parade features hand-decorated scrub brushes and plungers as well as other toilet-themed beads and toys. The weather was beautiful as school marching bands and adult dance/walking krewes filled the Avenue and floats filled trees with festive toilet paper.

Krewe of Iris 2023

The Krewe of Iris is the oldest all-female krewe, established in 1917. The krewe’s’ signature throw is hand-decorated sunglasses.  I caught 3 pair this year and another 4 pairs of undecorated sunglasses along with other fun treasures like a fanny pack and a glitter-filled rain poncho. Iris is such a pretty parade with colorful, feminine floats like the fairy with motorized wings that open wide then glide back as the street-barge rolls the Avenue.

Krewes of Druids, Chaos and Muses 2023

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.

Krewe of Carrollton – Behind the Scenes 2023

Krewe of Carrollton, the 4th oldest Carnival parading organization (after Rex, Proteus, and Zulu), is a traditional parade with big floats and plenty of bands and dance krewes. I couldn’t wait to dance down St. Charles with my Pussyfooters sisters!

The roads were blocked off nearly 2 miles from where we were to line up so I started my day with a solo trek past decorated houses. I did get to walk past the Femme Fatale floats and was particularly impressed with the float topped with a compact featuring an actual mirror.

Krewes of Freret & Themis Parades 2023

Krewe of Freret is one of my favorites of the season. The original Krewe paraded for 40 years until the 90’s. In 2011, some children of the previous membership and others gave the parade a reboot. The addition of Grammy-winner Trombone Shorty’s float with the super-long trombone prop has given the ever-evolving parade new continuity. His cover of Ernie K-Doe’s Here Come the Girls was playing as he rode past, throwing goodies to the crowd.

Krewes of Pontchartrain and Choctaw Parades 2023

I didn’t take many photos of the Friday night parades – Oshun, Cleopatra and Alla, but we had a great time kicking off the Uptown parade season. It was a cold, wet night but the wind stayed away so it was manageable. One of the floats helped our family out with a gender reveal – it’s a girl! And I loved cheering on my Pussyfooter sisters as they danced past. I’ll be joining them for Carrollton, Muses and Thoth.