COVID in New Orleans, and 500 Subscribers!

I’m so excited to announce that LAtoNOLA now has 500 Subscribers! I’ve never really pushed for subscribers so I’m thrilled to reach such a milestone. Thank you to my longtime followers like Danica in L.A., Angela in the UK and Mike M. in New Orleans as well as newer subscribers like Emmanuel in Nigeria, Aditya and Rishika in India and Misty in New Orleans. I’ve only blogged 4 times since Fat Tuesday ended New Orleans’ Carnival season and COVID-19 began reshaping our lifestyle. For over a decade, this blog has been a way to share our city’s deeply-rooted and fascinating culture. Sadly, the virus has shuttered our bars and silenced most of our musicians. Many restaurants are take-out only if they’re open at all. Festivals and concerts are cancelled. There hasn’t been much culture to blog about.

This weekend would have been Southern Decadence – when the LGBTQ community overtakes the French Quarter from Wednesday through the end of Labor Day filling the streets with revelry, costumes and parades. Parts of the Quarter are actually fairly busy this weekend. Masked tourists wander in and out of shops. The long line has returned in front of Cafe du Monde where people eat powdered-sugar-covered beignets at socially distanced tables in the shaded outdoor dining area.

Fat Tuesday 2020 – Costumes!

Fat Tuesday – Mardi Gras in French – splits the city into parade-goers and costumers. Parade-goers attend the Krewe of Zulu and Krewe of Rex parades. Diehards stay for the long procession of truck parades – basic floats with no bands or dancers.

We’re costumers. Fat Tuesday ties with the Mardi Gras Indians’ Super Sunday for my favorite day for photos.

Krewes of Thoth & Bacchus Parades

After a weather rescheduling cancelled the bands and dancers from the Krewe of Muses parade, I couldn’t wait to dance with the Pussyfooters in the Krewe of Thoth parade. But Carnival had turned tragic again Saturday night with the second tandem-float-related death. To be honest, it was an odd day. I was grateful to be spending it with my pink-corseted sisters bringing smiles to thick crowds.

Founded in 1947, the Krewe of Thoth has a unique Uptown route designed to pass hospitals and other care facilities people have trouble leaving for a parade.

Krewe of Tucks Parade 2020

Kids love the irreverently fun, toilet-themed Krewe of Tucks parade.  Throws include hand-decorated scrub brushes and plungers as well as other potty-humored beads, toys and poop-shaped lollipops. The rolls of purple, green and gold toilet paper are traditionally tossed over the arching live oak bows that line St. Charles, leaving the route strewn with light-catching streamers rippling in the breeze.

Krewes of Hermes & d’Etat Parades 2020

The Mystic Krewe of Hermes is the oldest of 3 parades that roll Friday night. Because of weather rescheduling, we’d already watched 2 parades – Muses and Babylon – without bands and dancing groups to keep things moving quickly. Though we have 5-parade days on weekends, we don’t normally start have to start them after school lets out. Hermes blanketed the crowd in blinkies, including their popular glowing wing headpieces. My favorite moment was when Saints legend Steve Gleason rolled past covered in glow tubes – but he was too quick for my camera.

The riders of  Le Krewe d’Etat threw a satirical spotlight on everything from Jeffrey Epstein to A.O.C.

Krewes of Muses and Babylon 2020

High wind gusts prevented Thursday’s parades from rolling, pushing 2 to Friday and one to Sunday’s schedule. With the addition of the Krewes of Muses and Babylon to Friday’s lineup, a 3-parade night became 5-parade marathon. Muses and Babylon rolled mostly without bands and dance groups to keep things moving quickly.

I was supposed to parade in the Muses 20-year anniversary parade with the pretty-in-pink Pussyfooters,

Krewes of Druids and Nyx Parades 2020

Wednesday starts 7 straight days of parades ending with Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). Things used to get off to a quiet start with just the Krewe of Ancient Druids rolling, and mostly locals sparsely dotting St. Charles. Once the all-female Super Krewe of Nyx  joined the lineup in 2012, the crowds have gotten thicker by the year. Whereas Druids is a smaller krewe with less than 200 members, the Krewe of Nyx boasts thousands of members in over 40 floats – all with treasured hand-made glittery purses to give to a lucky few along with the tons of beads and female-friendly throws.

Krewe of Carrollton Parade with the Pussyfooters

Krewe of Carrollton is the 4th oldest Carnival parading organization after the Krewes of  Rex, Proteus, and Zulu. This is my 8th year dancing with the Pussyfooters, but only my 2nd year parading with the festive men of Carrollton. Thanks to this blog, I always walk around as the floats line up. Bands, walking krewes and dancers wait to join the procession when the parade rolls, and I enjoy the behind-the-scenes glimpses into the different groups and their subcultures.

Parades! Oshun, Cleopatra & Alla

New Orleans has been celebrating Carnival since January 6th. Even if you didn’t attend the Joan of Arc Parade or wait to see the Phunny Phorty Phellows streetcar pass on St. Charles, the 6th was the day we could all officially eat King Cake. Every day. The parades begin 2 weeks earlier now but the Uptown parades are the official kick-off of parade season with the Krewes of Oshun, Cleopatra and Alla rolling.

Living in New Orleans – the first 10 years

My family is from Louisiana for generations on both sides but I didn’t move to New Orleans until late 2009. I’d lived in Maryland, Japan, Washington D.C., Alabama, New York, and almost 18 years in Los Angeles before finally following my heart home. Looking through photos for this blog post, I saw the story of a New Dat becoming a Saints season-ticket-holding Who Dat, a parade-goer becoming a Pussyfooters parade dancer, strangers becoming friends, and a blogger becoming an author. I saw the evolution of my love story with this city, and with the man I met my first year here.

I’d just produced Hell Ride with Quentin Tarantino when I decided to leave Los Angeles.