Krewes of Iris and Tucks Parades

Saturday was beautiful. Finally. A great day for parades. They started early with the women’s Krewe of Iris (est. 1917) having fun with their “Iris Rocks” theme. The Krewe of Tucks (founded in 1969 by a group of Loyola students) continued their toilet humor with their “Tucks Lives the Sportin’ Life” theme and throws like hand-decorated toilet brushes. I’m not normally a fan of bathroom humor but Tucks gets bigger and better every year and is one of the most colorful parades in every way.

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.

St. Joseph’s Day and Italian Parade

After parading ourselves silly through Carnival season then St. Patrick’s week, St. Joseph’s Day was the next citywide celebration in New Orleans. Celebrated predominantly in parts of Sicily, St. Joseph (of Mary and Joseph fame) is credited with ending a famine during the Middle Ages by answering the city’s prayers for rain. Since then, the people of Sicily and their New Orleanian ancestors have been preparing an annual feast on elaborate altars, turning no one away from the bounty and giving the leftovers to the indigent. Like with St. Patrick and his festivities, the vast majority of New Orleanians are neither Irish nor Italian, but they know a good party when they see it.

Krewe of Morpheus

Founded in 2000 and named for the god of dreams, Krewe of Morpheus is a quickly growing co-ed krewe that caps the 3 parade Friday night extravaganza like a climactic burst of fireworks. The theme this year was, “Morpheus Sings a Tune,” and featured floats of Elton John, Elvis and Michael Jackson among others. Membership is open and the 500 or so members get together several times throughout the year for social gatherings and fundraisers.

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.

Krewe of Pygmalion

Krewe of Pygmalion rolled on the heels of the Knights of Sparta last Saturday night, the topper to a 3 parade day. One of the more affordable krewes, both men and women ride. This year’s theme was “It’s All Greek to Me.” Greek Gods and Goddesses fronted the many floats but weren’t as spectacular as the royalty riding the floats. The peacock-like sequined displays surrounding the King, Queen and court are so cumbersome that the women are held up by an unseen harness hanging from a pole behind them.