Krewe du Vieux and Krewe Delusion 2013

Last week, I attended the last My Darlin’ New Orleans event thrown by the producers of HBO’s Treme. It was bittersweet as it means the show will end next season. Our city is the better for the jobs the production created, the peek it gave others into our unique local culture and the light it shined on the Mardi Gras Indians and a little known parade called Krewe Du Vieux. Among the many amazing performances that night was Al Johnson singing his classic It’s Carnival Time.

Po-Boy Fest, Saints and Treme

What a day to live in New Orleans. Sunday was the 6th annual Oak Street Po-Boy Festival. About 50,000 people pack into a few blocks lined with po-boy vendors and try as many different po-boys as they can, washing it down with plenty of Abita Beer. I’m not really into sandwiches and yet I really look forward to this fest every year. Like the Got Gumbo? event at the Royal Sonesta, over 30 vendors bring at least one po-boy offering so the level of creativity can be outstanding and you never know what flavor combinations you might find.

Krewe de Vieux and Krewedelusion 2012

It’s Carnival time!!! Kids on Christmas Eve have got nothing on New Orleanians anticipating Mardi Gras so when I heard a brass band passing through the French Quarter Saturday afternoon, I ran to find The Roots of Music marching through the the streets, rehearsing for their 6 upcoming parades, and squealed with delight. Enjoy the short video of the casually dressed but very skilled kids who’ve dedicated themselves to training after school with this wonderful non-profit group. They certainly got me in the mood for Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion’s parades later that evening.

Po-Boy Fest 2011

Sunday was the 5th Annual Po-Boy Festival and the second time I attended. Located on Oak Street in Uptown, the festival stretches from Carrolton to the levee and features 3 music stages, an arts and crafts alley for early holiday shopping, dancing lessons for kids with DancingMan504, a book fair, a dunking booth and a cornucopia of Po-Boys to choose from. Though there were booths featuring everything from Bacon Fried Hot Dogs to Paté and Pickled Veggies, the Po-Boy was king for a day with restaurants from all over the city bringing their best interpretations to sell and compete.

Krewe of Bacchus

The Krewe of Bacchus rolls one of the most popular parades of the season. It usually ends the 4 parade Sunday marathon, the giant splash at the end of a fireworks display, but because Endymion was cancelled the day before, we would still have another super-krewe after the 3 hour-ish Bacchus parade. A super-krewe is usually defined as having celebrity marshals and tandem floats as long as skyscrapers lying down.

Le Krewe D’Etat

Le Krewe d’Etat was the second of the 3 parades on Carnival Friday, or “Vendredi Gras.” Another of the city’s politically satirical parades, the floats are irreverently funny and skeletons abound. The krewe’s motto is “Vivite ut Vehatis. Vehite ut Vevatis,” which mostly means, “Live to Ride. Ride to Live.”

Knights of Babylon

The Knights of Babylon are a traditional Carnival Krewe founded in 1939 as the “Jesters Club.” Most floats during Mardi Gras are designed and built by either Blaine Kern or the Jahncke family’s Royal Artists, but Babylon uses the same designs they have for over 70 years. In an era where people lease cars, the krewe still owns and houses their floats. 

Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion (R-rated)

Though much of the humor is the local insider sort, Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion are far and away the bawdiest sanctioned parades to roll through the French Quarter. Mardi Gras hasn’t officially started but the brass bands and costumes and throws have already begun. Saturday morning, I heard a band coming down the street and ran out to find DancingMan504 leading the second line honoring the recently departed Poppa Neutrino.