Krewe of Endymion

Founded in 1966, Krewe of Endymion is a Super Krewe featuring over 3,000 riders and a 9 car, 365 foot long megafloat. Many of the vibrant floats are covered in thousands of lights – it’s Vegas on wheels. Jerry Springer made a return visit as Grand Marshal. His first ride was in 1998. It was chilly and windy but was a grand show worth shivering for. The royalty are particularly beautiful, so covered in bling and plumes they have to be held up by a chain from above. 

Krewes of Druid & Nyx

Krewe of Druids, founded in 1998, honors the Celtic priests who acted as mediators between people and their gods and nature. The krewe is fairly small and cloaked in secrecy. The first float didn’t pass us until almost 8pm. Kids have school, their parents have work but there were still plenty of families on the route giving it the miles-long-block-party feel I like. By tonight when I dance with the Pussyfooters in Krewe of Muses, the crowds will be thick with out-of-towners. Druids highlights included the Organ Grinders, the Amelia Earhawts and Sophie B. Wright’s marching band.

Krewe of Orpheus

The Krewe of Orpheus is the last parade to roll before Fat Tuesday. Like Endymion and Bacchus, Orpheus is a super-krewe with giant floats, mountains of throws and celebrity guests. Founded in 1993 by Harry Connick Jr. and Sr. and theatrical director, Sonny Borey, the krewe accepts members of any race or gender. Named for the son of Apollo whose music enchanted everything in nature, the 27 Blaine Kern designed floats portrayed the theme of, “Visions of Other Worlds.” Celebrity guests included Jennifer Coolidge and Jonathan Silverman as well as a chunk of HBO’s Treme cast including Steve Zahn, NOLA native Wendell Pierce, Khandi Alexander, John Goodman, David Morse, Kim Dickens and many more.

Krewe of Bacchus

The Krewe of Bacchus rolls one of the most popular parades of the season. It usually ends the 4 parade Sunday marathon, the giant splash at the end of a fireworks display, but because Endymion was cancelled the day before, we would still have another super-krewe after the 3 hour-ish Bacchus parade. A super-krewe is usually defined as having celebrity marshals and tandem floats as long as skyscrapers lying down.

Endymion Extravaganza – My First Ball!

Endymion is what’s known as a “Super Krewe,” with celebrity guests, mountains of throws and tandem floats as long as a train. Normally, the Saturday parade rolls and finishes its route with a loop around the venue of its Extravaganza. This year, however, the parade was rescheduled for rain. But, that didn’t stop the Ball from going on as planned, parade and all.