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.

Krewe of Tucks Parade

Krewe of Tucks was named for a bar that doesn’t exist anymore and features a giant toilet float. Throws include rolls of toilet paper that stream through the live oaks lining the route as well a toilet plungers and specially decorated toilet brushes done by the special needs adults at Magnolia Community Services.

The vibrant parade features neon foam monsters, the beaded corsets of Dames du Perlage, the Star Wars-themed 501st Legion and Ducks of Dixieland. Kolossos (animal bikes) and the elephant-themed Great Tuskers rolled the route along with crowd-favorite lounge-chair-riding Laissez Boys.