Krewe of Boo 2017

The weather was balmy for Krewe of Boo, the Halloween parade kicking off the season’s festivities. I have absolutely no time to blog but I took some great photos while lining up with the Pussyfooters to dance through the French Quarter and into the CBD. I only wish I could show you all of the adorable children I saw along the route and the clever costumes worn by kids and adults. This is a city that costumes for no reason, so given any excuse, they tend to go all out. 

Krewe of Boo Parade 2016

 The Krewe of Boo parade gets bigger and better every year. “Chief Spookster” Brian Kern adds a “greener” point of view to his family legacy with locally-made throws and food items like Pralinettes from Aunt Sally’s, Chee Wees from Elmer’s Fine Foods and PJ’s Coffee packs. This year’s parade featured king Morten Andersen, legendary kicker for the Saints, and queen Trixie Minx, local burlesque diva. Their floats led a procession of 14 separated by brass bands like Soul Brass Band, marching bands from local schools like Renew Cultural Academy and 30 carnival marching groups including Tap Dat, Camel Toe Lady Steppers, Sirens, Krewe Des Fleurs, Skinz’n’Bonez and the Pussyfooters!

Krewe du Vieux & Krewedelusion (R-rated)

At 30 years old, Krewe du Vieux is certainly the bawdiest of Carnival season’s parades. Though the satire is generally pointed in the direction of local politics and concerns, the floats often feature a giant penis or the occasional vagina. A spin-off of the Krewe of Clones (1978-85), the Krewe du Vieux parade was born of a scheduling clash with the city’s hosting of Super Bowl XX that cancelled the Clones’ parade that year. A few of the Clones’ 32 Subkrewes decided to march anyway. By the following year, Krewe of Clones had disbanded and reformed into Krewe du Vieux and rolled with a funeral as their theme to give birth to the new tradition. 

Krewe of Boo 2015

This was my third year dancing with the Pussyfooters in the Krewe of Boo parade. “Chief Spookster” Brian Kern has taken the family legacy to a “greener” level with locally-made throws like Voodoo Doll pins and magnets and Candy Corn necklaces by New Orleans artists, grab bags of plush toys, frisbees and more recycled by Arc of Greater New Orleans and locally-made food items like Pralinettes from Aunt Sally’s, Chee Wees from Elmer’s Fine Foods and PJ’s Coffee packs.

Gleason Gras, Krewe of Boo Parade, Pelicans and more!

As I wrote in my last post, I have no time to blog but it’s been a very eventful couple of weeks and I at least wanted to share some of the photos. I attended a bunch of movies at the 25th annual New Orleans Film Festival, including the premiere of Black and White starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. It was great as were Imperial Dreams, Cast the First Stone, Imitation Game and the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prizewinner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash, to name a few. I also modeled in a fashion show for the St. Elizabeth’s Guild annual celebrity fashion show and “Volunteer Activists Awards” fundraiser. Saint Steve Gleason was one of the many honored and I was excited just to be in the room with him.

Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion (R-rated)

Though Carnival doesn’t “officially” start until 12 days before Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French), the city’s unofficially-official start is certainly the one-two satirical-parade punch of Krewe du Vieux and Krewedelusion. The bawdy R-rated parades lampoons local, national and even international politics with the addition of jabs at the Olympics-host Russian policy toward gays. With throws ranging from earplugs to liquor, it’s a fun adult night parade in the French Quarter.

Street Kings and Krewe of Boo Parade

In 2010, Red Bull sponsored a battle of the bands between popular local brass bands – calling it Street Kings. This year, they reprised the contest packing Claiborne Ave under the I-10 overpass. This year’s bands included TBC, New Breed, New Creations and the Original Pinettes – the city’s only all-female brass band. Like most events in New Orleans, there were craft booths, food booths and bars a-plenty. The winning band receives mentorship from Trombone Shorty during 3 days of recording time in the Red Bull Studios. Trombone Shorty also served as one of the judges along with Kermit Ruffins, Walter Ramsey (of the former winners – Stooges Brass Band), WGNO’s Lebron Joseph and Offbeat Magazine’s Jan Ramsey. The event was hosted by the energetic duo of DJ Slab 1 and Glen David Andrews.