Festigals Step Up Parade

The Festigals Step Up Parade is the city’s largest women’s second-line parade. The parade is part of the Festigals weekend gathering of women creating opportunities for networking, education, fundraising and, of course,  New Orleanian fun. A fundraising event, this year’s stroll raised thousands for the New Orleans Area American Heart Association.

Festigals was my first parade as a Pussyfooter 7 years ago

Pride Parade

After the food and music of the Creole Tomato Fest and the fun spectacle of the Naked Bike Parade, we were ready for the festive and fabulous Pride Parade. Every year, the parade grows adding more dancers, floats and sponsors like Walgreen’s, Cox, Lyft, and Absolut. Bounce legend Big Freedia joined the LGBTQ groups, community organizations, churches and more rolling through the French Quarter.

Oyster Fest & Krewe of Boo Dance-Off

It was 90 and humid for the 1oth New Orleans Oyster Fest and the first Krewe of Boo Dance-Off, but that didn’t keep us away from the festivities. Lunch was Crabmeat Ravioli ($10) from Andrea’s Restaurant & Catering, and Food Drunk’s Louisiana Crab & Crawfish Mac & Cheese ($10), then a Wedding Cake Snoball from Nola Snow (LG $7 w/souvenir cup). Nola Snow provided the snoballs for our wedding reception 5 years ago so it was a sweet remembrance. Then we headed to Spanish Plaza for Brian Kern’s Halfway to Halloween Dance-Off.

French Quarter Fest Saturday

Saturday is always a crowded day for French Quarter Fest – except last year when it was shut down for storms. With family in town for a second day of over 20 stages of indigenous music and 60 local food booths, we decided to take things at a slower pace and stay clear of the massive riverside crowds. We started the day walking Frenchmen Street through the Marigny for a delicious brunch at the Ruby Slipper.

Treme Brass Band was onstage at the Old U.S. Mint when we returned – entertaining the fest-goers with mostly traditional jazz

St. Patrick’s Parades 2019

The month of Carnival parades just ended on the 5th but we were back in the streets again ALL weekend starting with the Molly’s (Jim Monaghan’s) Irish Parade Friday in the French Quarter. The Pussyfooters were invited to join in the festivities this year and I love any chance to dance. The weather was awful, cold and rainy, but we were grateful for inclusion in the lively second line.

Saturday, we met family at the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club‘s Irish Channel Parade. The parade features double-decker floats, dancers and bagpipers but the heart of the Irish Channel parade is the many groups of walkers exchanging silk flowers for kisses (mostly on the cheek).

Fat Tuesday – Costumes!

Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) splits the city into 2 main groups – parade-goers and costumers. The Krewe of Zulu starts the day of parades, followed by regal Krewe of Rex, then a long procession of truck parades – just floats, no bands or dancers.

We’re costumers so we headed to the Marigny to dive into the wackiness. There were group costumes including many clusters of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs. Trump wall interpretations were also popular. There were even 2 last suppers. The most popular costume was a blind referee or anything related to penalty flags.

Krewes of Thoth and Bacchus Parades

I was looking forward to dancing with the Pussyfooters in the Krewe of Thoth parade, but the threat of severe weather led to a slimming of the day’s festivities. The 3 morning parades rolled without marching bands and dance krewes – just floats.