Krewes of Druid and Nyx Parades

Wednesday was the Krewe of Ancient Druids (established 1998) parade followed by the newest women’s parade – the Mystic Krewe of Nyx in their 3rd year. I’m scrambling to manage my schedule so apologies for not doing links to other sites, photo labels and descriptions of the evening. Since I can’t label the photos (or narrow them down much), here are the dance teams and bands I photographed at Druids: Chalmette, Shine Time, John Ehret, Helen Cox, Gris Gris Strut, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Sci Academy, Sophie B. wright, Xtreme Voltage and Superstar Steppers.

Krewe of Alla

This was my first time seeing the Krewe of Alla parade, the 4th oldest Krewe. This was the first time it rolled the Uptown route having just moved from the West Bank where it’s rolled since the 1930’s. I imagine it was both disappointing for them not to see the same familiar route and faces and also exciting to roll St. Charles and Canal with the big crowds of locals and tourists. Though she was on the opposite side of the Captains float, on the turnaround, I did get to spot Margie Perez, a local musician and the muscle behind Mardi Gras bead recycling at ARC of Greater New Orleans.

Parades! Oshun and Cleopatra

The official Carnival parades kicked off with the Krewes of Oshun and Cleopatra on Friday night.  Oshun, named for the African goddess of fountains, love, wealth and religion, features peacock symbology and finely feathered royalty including Christopher Brown as King Shango, Queen Laquina Ladmirault Brown, Grand Marshall WDSU’s Damon Singleton and Ms. Black Lousiana, Chelsea Smith. Established in 1996, this year’s theme was “Night Out in the Big City.” My favorite float had to be the Saints Superfans float. Superfan Larry Jehle Jr. AKA “Saints Fett” passed last week after battling leukemia and, though he only ever got to attend one game inside the Dome, even Drew Brees mourns his loss.

Krewe of Ancient Druids Parade

The spookiest Krewe, the Ancient Druids, rolled through Uptown Wednesday night. Since it was a school night and only one krewe paraded, the crowds were smaller, but they put on a fairly big show with a funky medieval tone. Between the masked, Merlin-capped riders and the giant horses, I half expected someone to bring me a pint of ale.