Krewes of Druids and Nyx Parades 2020

Wednesday starts 7 straight days of parades ending with Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). Things used to get off to a quiet start with just the Krewe of Ancient Druids rolling, and mostly locals sparsely dotting St. Charles. Once the all-female Super Krewe of Nyx  joined the lineup in 2012, the crowds have gotten thicker by the year. Whereas Druids is a smaller krewe with less than 200 members, the Krewe of Nyx boasts thousands of members in over 40 floats – all with treasured hand-made glittery purses to give to a lucky few along with the tons of beads and female-friendly throws.

Krewes of Druids and Nyx Parades!

With just Krewes of Druids rolling, Wednesday used to be a quiet kickoff to 7 straight days of parades. Druids is a smaller krewe with less than 200 members, all masked and anonymous. I always enjoy the school bands and adult dance troupes like the Organ Grinders and Crescent City Fae.

Since 2012, the diverse all-female Super Krewe of Nyx has joined the Wednesday festivities hosting literally thousands of riders.

Krewes of Muses & Iris Parades

No time to blog this year but wanted to share photos of the fun at the Krewes of Muses and Iris parades. I always love dancing with my Pussyfooter sisters in Muses. Both the parade and our group – the first modern-day adult parade dance troupe, debuted together in 2001. Photos include Krewe des Fleurs, Krewe of the Rolling Elvi, the NOLA Cherry Bombs, Fat City Drum Corps, the Amelia Earhawts and much more! 

Mardi Gras 2017 Wrap-Up

We’ve heard it a lot in the last few days – this was the best Carnival (Mardi Gras season) in years. In fairness, a lot of it had to do with the extraordinarily wonderful weather. After the 50 degree rain-soaked Krewe of Cleopatra parade,  most days were 70-80 and sunny with breezes. This year, I danced in 3 parades with the Pussyfooters. We were excited to debut our super-hero-inspired capes and signature pink corsets at the Cleopatra parade but mostly ended up covered in dripping-wet plastic sacks. That said, the crowds kept us inspired. Carnival parades are like a perpetual motion machine. The paraders bring energy to the crowds and the crowds bring energy to the paraders.

Though routines are set, each year I get to do new things at Mardi Gras and have new experiences.

Krewes of Druids and Nyx Parades

Everywhere else, it was just Wednesday but here in New Orleans, Krewe of Druids kicked off a 2 parade night that rolled its way toward midnight. Founded in 1998, the “Merlin”-hat-wearing Druids honor the Celtic priests who acted as mediators between the people and their gods and nature. Their krewe never has more than 200 members and secrecy shrouds their membership. In near direct opposition, the Krewe of Nyx is a diverse all-female Super Krewe of more than 2,200 riders. The last float in Druids was South-Park-inspired with a sign picking on Nyx, “Seriously… The parade behind us is not worth the wait!” Except, of course, it totally was. Though by 10:30pm there was some nostalgia for the Wednesdays of yore when people could get home to watch a favorite show or finish homework before turning in, Nyx puts on a heck of a parade.

Mardi Gras Wrap-Up 2016

This is my 7th full Mardi Gras/Carnival season and the evolution from parade-goer to parader continues. I’ve gone from attending dozens of parades alone to knowing people on the route to knowing people in the parade to riding in the Orpheus Monarch Float and becoming a Pussyfooter dancer in parades. Three years in, I’ve now helped a new batch of “Kittens” learn the dances and tricks for staying warm and comfortable while parading for miles and miles. I’ve gone from having every parade, Krewe, marching band, float, dance troupe and rolling krewe be new to me to knowing bands by their uniforms and floats by their designer and some by name.  Even the parade schedule is familiar. Very little is new anymore, now it’s anticipated and beloved.

Krewes of Druid & Nyx

Krewe of Druids, founded in 1998, honors the Celtic priests who acted as mediators between people and their gods and nature. The krewe is fairly small and cloaked in secrecy. The first float didn’t pass us until almost 8pm. Kids have school, their parents have work but there were still plenty of families on the route giving it the miles-long-block-party feel I like. By tonight when I dance with the Pussyfooters in Krewe of Muses, the crowds will be thick with out-of-towners. Druids highlights included the Organ Grinders, the Amelia Earhawts and Sophie B. Wright’s marching band.

Krewes of Druid and Nyx

Wednesday night, the final week of Carnival kicked off with the Krewe of Ancient Druids and Krewe of Nyx parades. Last year, we braved freezing rain but the skies were clear for this year’s festivities. Druids may have taken their ribbing of female parades too far with their Louisiana Purchase card (our version of food stamps) float displaying a sign reading, “Preferred Card of all Female Mardi Gras Krewes.” But the parade was fun, traditional and featured fun female dance troupes like Organ Grinders and Amelia Earhawts (who seem to be parading every day!).