Krewe of Jingle Parade 2018

The Canal Street Home for the Holidays Krewe of Jingle Parade is a perfect way to kick off the holiday season. The 80 degree weather brought out a big crowd for the dance troupes, marching bands, majorettes, stilt-walkers, floats, Santa and local favorite – Mr. Bingle.

Rebirth at Maple Leaf

There are New Orleans traditions that belong mostly to our visitors (Bourbon Street) and those that belong uniquely to locals, but there are a few traditions we all share. We all eat beignets, we all love Mardi Gras (though often for different reasons) and we all love the Tuesday night tradition of Rebirth Brass Band playing the Maple Leaf. Rebirth is the first brass band to ever win a Grammy. The world has heard them in many soundtracks dating back to Reginald Hudlin’s Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy in 1992. Last years’s hit Girls Trip included the band’s original, Do Watcha Wanna – practically a city anthem.

I’d been to the Maple Leaf in the 90’s during a location scout for a film and not much has changed. The service was fantastic – a winning balance of fast and friendly.

Hermes, D’Etat & Morpheus with Thomas Morstead

One of the great things about Mardi Gras is that it serves as a gathering point. People have “their spot” and you know where to find them. And there are the annual house parties along the route. After Katrina, this was the only way some people had to find each other after having been washed away.  When I was Pussyfooting in Muses, I knew where to look for friends and neighbors. Float riders send out notes to their friends letting them know which float they’ll be on and which side they’re riding – sidewalk side or neutral ground side – so they can give them special throws or shower them with beads. We come together at Mardi Gras, we find each other.