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! Continue reading
Tag Archives: irish channel
House Floats – St. Charles Ave.
St. Charles is famous in part for being the grand avenue the Uptown parades roll during Carnival in New Orleans. This time of year, the live-oak-and-manor-home lined avenue is normally crowded with ladder chairs topped with children, ice chests and barbecues, and throngs of festively dressed parade-goers snatching beads, toys and cups from the air as massive, colorful floats roll by carrying dozens of Krewe members scattering throws. Mardi Gras is an act of love and festivity with the members of the various Krewes paying for everything from the throws, floats, bands and dancers to the police and clean-up. But COVID interrupted that act of generosity.
Not to be undone, the city has embraced “Yardi Gras.” Thousands of homes and businesses throughout the city (and even the world) are decorated as parade floats. Continue reading
House Floats – Lower Garden District
New Orleans has been celebrating Carnival in a safe, socially distanced way with City Park’s drive-thru Floats in the Oaks stationary parade and “Yardi Gras,” thousands of homes and businesses throughout the city decorated as parade floats. Krewe of House Floats, a grassroots organization promoting this safe parade concept, encouraged people to use local businesses and artists to help decorate their places as house floats, or go DIY, then register on their map.
I’ve already covered Magazine Street, the Irish Channel and Mid-City. The next neighborhood we meandered in search of Mardi Gras merriment was the Lower Garden District. I loved the giant tropical fish of the Realm of Poseidon house. Continue reading
Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade 2018
With Mardi Gras parades a month behind us, the St. Patrick’s festivities offer a city-wide pick-me-up including several parties and parades. Our favorite event is the Irish Channel Parade put on by the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club since 1947. With floats, throws, dance troupes and walking krewes, the parade includes over 1400 (often drunk) walkers in black suits and green accessories (many in kilts) exchanging silk flowers for kisses from the women and children on the route. Continue reading
Filed under Culture, decorations and costumes, free events and lagniappe, history, Local Cuisine, parade
Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Parade 2015
With the Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday parade just hours away, I have NO time to write so I borrowed from a past post. Pardon the plagiarism. The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club was established in 1947 and has held a mass and parade for over 60 years. I’ve been attending for 6 of those. Over 1400 (often drunk) walkers in black suits and green accessories (many in kilts) exchange silk flowers for kisses from the women and children on the route. Then floats pass tossing cabbage, carrots, Oodles of Noodles, pickles, Moon Pies, Lucky Charms and Irish Spring soap in addition to the traditional throws of beads, toys and cups. Continue reading
Irish Channel Parade 2014
The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club was established in 1947 and has held a mass and parade for over 60 years. I’ve been attending for 5 of those, each year adding more trinkets to my costume and more recipes for the cabbage I catch. A friend of mine from college was visiting and it was her 2nd parade ever (her first was the Molly’s parade the day before). She arrived ready in a green shirt and green pinwheels spinning on her head. Not 24 hours in New Orleans and she was already getting the hint that nothing is “too silly” here. Continue reading