Krewe of Boo 2018

Though it sprinkled off and on, the warm New Orleans weather brought out huge crowds for the Krewe of Boo parade. “Chief Spookster” Brian Kern’s “greener” take on throws includes locally-made throws and food items like Pralinettes from Aunt Sally’s, Chee Wees from Elmer’s Fine Foods and PJ’s Coffee packs. Spooktacular floats were separated by marching bands and marching groups including Tap Dat, Big Easy Rollergirls, Krewe des Fleurs, Organ Grinders, Muff-A-Lottas, Roux La La, Amelia EarHawts, Krewe of Rolling Elvi, 610 Stompers and the Pussyfooters!

This was my fifth year dancing with the Pussyfooters in the Halloween parade. For many dance and walking groups, it’s the first parade for their new members.

Pussyfooting in Krewe of Thoth

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, by now you know that I proudly dance with the Pussyfooters in parades throughout the year. Krewe of Thoth may be the longest route, but between the usually fabulous weather and the many delightful children that attend, it’s one of my favorite to parade in. I gave some behind-the-scenes information in my post on Pussyfooting in Krewe of Muses but here’s some answers to some frequently asked questions about parading.

Gleason Gras, Krewe of Boo Parade, Pelicans and more!

As I wrote in my last post, I have no time to blog but it’s been a very eventful couple of weeks and I at least wanted to share some of the photos. I attended a bunch of movies at the 25th annual New Orleans Film Festival, including the premiere of Black and White starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. It was great as were Imperial Dreams, Cast the First Stone, Imitation Game and the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prizewinner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash, to name a few. I also modeled in a fashion show for the St. Elizabeth’s Guild annual celebrity fashion show and “Volunteer Activists Awards” fundraiser. Saint Steve Gleason was one of the many honored and I was excited just to be in the room with him.

Super Bowl Continues…

I’ve already spoken about the power going down in the Superdome, but the weekend up to that point ran pretty perfectly. Day 3 of the NFL concert series, we only caught one show – 2012 Grammy winners Rebirth Brass Band. More out-of-towers joined in the festivities but the crowd was still mainly the Who Dat Nation sporting black and gold. We knew all the call-backs and when to thrust our fists in the air and shout, “Hey!” and when to find a tissue and wave it for a second line dance. It struck me as ritualistic like church – the church of funk in the house of soul. As such, I wondered if the visiting teams felt as left out or confused as a Buddhist at Mass but they seemed to be having fun in any case.