Inaugural Children’s Hospital Holiday Parade

I’ve loved dancing with the Pussyfooters in the annual Krewe of Jingle holiday parade for years. Sadly, the parade didn’t survive the pandemic, so organizers from various local organizations came together to create the first ever Children’s Hospital Holiday Parade. The float builders at Kern Studios created Louisiana and New Orleans-centritc floats like alligators and Mr. Bingle. TV cameras were set up throughout the city to report the action. Floating balloons (like in the Macy’s parade) were added to the many dance krewes and school bands crowds have come to expect.

Krewe du Vieux & Krewedelusion 2022

The French Quarter’s satirical  Krewe du Vieux parade has been poking fun at local, national and global issues with bawdy humor and lots of phalluses for over 30 years. This year’s theme was Vaxxed & Confused and floats featured moments from the pandemic as well as Hurricane Ida and the time the mayor suggested we put month-old garbage in our cars and take it to the dump ourselves. 

Krewedelusion‘s more family-friendly parade has been following Krewe du Vieux  for over a decade.

Irma Thomas at Wednesday at the Square

This is my 10th year enjoying the  Young Leadership Council‘s  Wednesday at the Square music series in Lafayette Square. We’re so spoiled for music here that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Grammy-winner  Irma Thomas perform dozens of times. We got a bunch of yummy food from the booths and hung out with friends while the “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” took the stage with her band, The Professionals .

Krewes of Babylon and Muses Parades 2019

Because I dance with the Pussyfooters, I haven’t attended the Krewes of Babylon and Muses parades since 2013. Though I was fairly devastated to be too under the weather for hours of dancing, it was kinda wonderful to experience the Thursday parades as a spectator. The rain chased the start time forward and back, finally pushing the Krewe of Chaos out of the evening entirely. Hopes are that they will roll Monday instead. Babylon was beautiful and it was great touching base with meteorologist Margaret Orr as she drove past.

Krewe of Barkus & King Cake Party

Like many great ideas in New Orleans, Mystic Krewe of Barkus started in a bar. The parade helps raise funds and awareness for dog adoption and other animal services and the weather couldn’t have been better for canine Carnival. Like many parades, the people in the crowd dress up as well and this is one parade where your dogs are welcome. As always, WDSU’s Margaret Orr presided over the festivities from the balcony of Good Friends where it all started. Her genuine affection for the dogs and respect for those who help animals is infectious.

This year’s theme was “From the Dog House to the White House.”

Barkus, Allah and Femme Fatale Parades

Sunday’s parades enjoyed perfect weather. You can’t do it all during Mardi Gras so we picked the Krewes of Barkus, Allah and Femme Fatale parades. A local favorite, Barkus is the dog parade and this year’s theme was “BARK WARS: The Return of the K9” so many of the costumes and floats celebrated Star Wars. For more about the hilarious history of the ever-growing parade and the special lunch the rescue-dog King and Queen enjoy at Galatoire’s, click HERE. 

Gleason Gras, Krewe of Boo Parade, Pelicans and more!

As I wrote in my last post, I have no time to blog but it’s been a very eventful couple of weeks and I at least wanted to share some of the photos. I attended a bunch of movies at the 25th annual New Orleans Film Festival, including the premiere of Black and White starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. It was great as were Imperial Dreams, Cast the First Stone, Imitation Game and the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prizewinner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash, to name a few. I also modeled in a fashion show for the St. Elizabeth’s Guild annual celebrity fashion show and “Volunteer Activists Awards” fundraiser. Saint Steve Gleason was one of the many honored and I was excited just to be in the room with him.

Krewe of Barkus

Though it means missing the Carrolton and King Arthur parades, the Krewe of Barkus parade is one of my annual favorites. Founded in 1992 at a Margaret Orr fan club meeting at Good Friends Bar, the parade seems to get bigger every year. Despite the cats-and-dogs rain, crowds were thick with both locals and 1st-timers. This year’s theme was  “Dogzilla: Barkus Licks the Crescent City.” WDSU’s Margaret Orr and local personality Angela Hill (WWL – retired) introduced the king and queen (Dirk and Barbie) who were both rescue dogs this year.

Mystic Krewe of Barkus – the dog parade!

During a season of near daily parades rolling day and night, it’s hard to stand out, but the Mystic Krewe of Barkus has one thing other parades don’t – dogs!!! The parade was M.C.’ed by local meteorologist, Margaret Orr, from the balcony of the Good Friends Bar. Turns out the Krewe was founded in that bar in 1992 at a meeting of the Margaret Orr fan club