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.

Living in New Orleans – the first 10 years

My family is from Louisiana for generations on both sides but I didn’t move to New Orleans until late 2009. I’d lived in Maryland, Japan, Washington D.C., Alabama, New York, and almost 18 years in Los Angeles before finally following my heart home. Looking through photos for this blog post, I saw the story of a New Dat becoming a Saints season-ticket-holding Who Dat, a parade-goer becoming a Pussyfooters parade dancer, strangers becoming friends, and a blogger becoming an author. I saw the evolution of my love story with this city, and with the man I met my first year here.

I’d just produced Hell Ride with Quentin Tarantino when I decided to leave Los Angeles.

New Orleans Mystery Books

When I started this blog, I was working on a novel, Lemonade Farm. Ten years later, I’ve finished that novel, an acting book,  Know Small Parts: An Actor’s Guide to Turning Minutes into Moments and Moments ints a Career with foreword by Richard Dreyfuss and endorsements from Kevin Costner, Lou Diamond Phillips and many more – and with the release of The Family Secret: A Charlotte Reade Mystery – I’ve just completed a 5-book series.

The first book of the mysteries-not-murders series begins as the Saints are marching toward their Super Bowl victory during Mardi Gras in 2009-10. As actor/producer Charlotte aids in the search for a birth mother, she comes across a haunted chandelier, and a mystery in her own family’s past.

Oyster Fest & Krewe of Boo Dance-Off

It was 90 and humid for the 1oth New Orleans Oyster Fest and the first Krewe of Boo Dance-Off, but that didn’t keep us away from the festivities. Lunch was Crabmeat Ravioli ($10) from Andrea’s Restaurant & Catering, and Food Drunk’s Louisiana Crab & Crawfish Mac & Cheese ($10), then a Wedding Cake Snoball from Nola Snow (LG $7 w/souvenir cup). Nola Snow provided the snoballs for our wedding reception 5 years ago so it was a sweet remembrance. Then we headed to Spanish Plaza for Brian Kern’s Halfway to Halloween Dance-Off.

Who Dat Nation Boycott Parades

I don’t have it in me to explain what it’s like to be a Saints fan right now. Pain and pride, I’ve been feeling a lot of both. But we grieve loss differently here, so this Sunday – while the world watched the Asterisks Bowl – we partied and paraded. There were literally parades from morning throughout the game. Many bars played the Saints victory in 2010 rather than the game. There was even a day-long concert with 10 bands. Choppa led the dance moves. The front page of the paper featured a football field grid with all the activities listed, but we started off the grid at the 25th Treme Sidewalk Steppers second line.

Saints Playoffs in the Superdome

As Saints season ticket holders, we get first dibs on our own seats when the Saints have a playoff game in the Superdome. This season, both our games will be at home in the Dome and the Who Dat Nation couldn’t be happier.

It was a perfect day starting with a walk through the French Quarter past bars filled with black-and-gold-wearing fans. We made a few stops to have drinks with friends we spotted. Spirits were high, the music was loud and it felt a lot like 9 years ago when the team went all the way, winning their first Super Bowl. It was the first time the team had even been to the Super Bowl at all. The victory marked a rebirth for the city. As recently departed Saints owner, Tom Benson, said, “The best thing we can do for New Orleans is WIN. Our city holds its head higher, walks taller and shines brighter when the Saints win.”

The Who Dat Nation Wins

Sure, the Saints lost the playoff game against the Vikings last Sunday, but winning rarely teaches us about the character of a person, a team or a place. Most of us don’t really know who or what we are until we’re faced with failure. As an actor, my life has been nearly defined by rejection. My life credo has long been “Dare To Fail.” Maybe that’s why being a Saints fan has come so easy to me. So, the Saints lost in the last millisecond of the game and, of course, we’re all disappointed. But Saints fans can turn any loss into a win.

Though I have roots reaching back centuries in this city, I didn’t move here until 2009 as the Saints were heading to their amazing Super Bowl victory. That made me more of a “New Dat” than a Who Dat. But I watched every game in bars throughout the city,

Another New Orleans Mystery!

If you’ve read any of my books, perhaps you’re already familiar with Charlotte Reade, the L.A. actor who returns to her family home in New Orleans to attend a funeral and ends up helping to find a birth mother in The Secret of the Other Mother: A Charlotte Reade Mystery. Charlotte’s search takes her down a path that starts in a laundromat in the 1950’s and winds through costume experts and a burlesque tour before landing her on the infamous Bourbon Street. Set during the Saints’ 2009 march to Super Bowl victory and the most-amazing-Mardi-Gras-ever, many of the details of those events are based on this blog.

Charlotte’s back in this second installment of the local best-seller Charlotte Reade Mystery series, The Hidden Huntsman.

Saints Draft Boil (Crawfish!)

Almost exactly 2 years ago, we became Saints season ticket holders. After 8 years on the waiting list and with only 2 days until our wedding, we considered finally getting the coveted tickets to be our wedding gift from the city. As fun as it was bouncing around the Superdome, seeing the game from different angles and meeting new people, I love having an “address” in the stadium. Even better are the many events open to us including the 2016 Draft Super Boil – a giant Who Dat Nation crawfish boil at the Saints Practice Facility. 

Saints’ Will Smith Remembered

Super Bowl-winning  Saint, Will Smith, was murdered last week attempting to save his wife’s life after she’d been shot once in each leg. The second line celebrating his life and return home started at the Half Moon Bar, not far from where Smith lost his life, and was headed to the Ooh Poo Pah Doo Bar in the Treme. James Andrews led the band as Baby Dolls, Saints fans and local-born Saint, Keenan Lewis, gathered to hug, dance, sing, pray and cry. The 4 mile parade started with a moment of silence and some words of hope in front of the memorial that’s been climbing up the fence and spreading across the sidewalk.