Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade

After my first full Mardi Gras season here in 2010, I had my first ever St. Patrick’s season here. Much to my surprise in this mostly non-Irish city, the celebrations went on for days with block parties, house parties and a multitude of parades. My favorite moment quickly became the Irish Channel Parade. This, my 3rd Irish Channel Parade, brought my life in L.A. and my life in NOLA together. Preparing for my upcoming part in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, I’ve been spending time with several of my fellow castmates. Though I invited people from many different parts of my life, I spent St. Patrick’s surrounded by Django-ites.

Krewe of Tucks

The Krewe of Tucks is without a doubt one of the most “colorful” of the Carnival parades in every sense of the word. Known for its toilet-based humor, Tucks was founded in 1969 by Loyola students in the Friar Tuck bar (from which the krewe derives its name) after they had tried in vain to become White flambeaux carriers. Begun as a small night parade of pick-up trucks, the parade is now a large daytime parade and one of the city’s favorites.

Halloween and the Saints – Boo Dat!

Apparently, Halloween is the third largest holiday in New Orleans, but don’t quote me on that as I got the info from a bartender finishing his shift at Rawhide, not the Guinness World Book of Records. But Guinness was here to count how many people wore costumes to the Saints game Sunday. With almost 18,000 people in costumes – mostly black and gold, we set the record for the largest costume party.