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2010 Mardi Gras Throw Predictions & 2009 Round Up

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2008 Muses Hand Decorated Shoe Throw

2009 Green Scull Float, Krewe d'Etat

Throws are getting more sophisticated every year. Throw variety stagnated for decades, but now, certain forward leaning Krewes are pushing the throw envelope in exciting new directions. Most novel throws are novelty in nature, but some are functional as well. The clear leaders in 2009  were Krewe of Muses and Krewe d’Etat. Muses had more depth and breath of new throws than any other krewe last year in MG history hands down. d’Etat had the number 1 overall throw, but no depth or breath to speak of.

The clear functional and fun winner last year, d’Etat’s crowning achievement, the 3D 360 lenticular, full color  Super Cup.  Obviously the most fun, functional MG cup ever!  My hat’s off to d’Etat’s throw innovation. Here’s to 2010!

Now to the overall winner by a country mile, Muses. Egad, what an elegant krewe, cooler than cool, all New Orleans and all good things about New Orleans. Innovation across the board- more original, new throws than all the other krewes together! Keeping Mardi Gras Throws innovative and fresh into the new decade!!

Throw innovation is only one of the games of Muses, the largest and baddest of all the woman’s krewes.  In their prime in the mid 1980s, Shangri La in Chalmette was a mighty all-female krewe, with over 1,000 members. However, their membership declined since Katrina, and chose not to parade in 2009.

Muses began parading as an all-female krewe in 2001. Staci Rosenberg is founder and captain of Muses. In just eight short years, Muses is at the absolute top of the New Orleans krewes in terms of creativity and numbers of throws. No other krewe comes close to matching the depth and breadth of their throws. They also are one of the largest krewes in terms of membership, with 1,500 members.

Muse’s personalized throws from 2008 (incomplete list): oversized logo powder puff, working lava lamp key chain, Muse comic book ( “SuperMuse”), full size decorated woman’s shoes, shoe medallion bracelets,  roller skate medallions, Muses LED-Fan, Muses glitter stick-on fashion accessory, lighted shoe medallions, Muses Night Fever (parade theme), lighted medallion, plastic crystal lighted heart medallion, soft spear, headband, disco ball medallion, song spoofs and lyrics booklet, regular logo beads, and more. Here’s a link to a really cool U-Tube video we shot of a 2009 Muses LED-FAN throw Muses LED-Fan

At the 2010 Pussyfooter’s Ball at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World on the East Bank, the centerpieces on each table were Muses shoes decorated in Pussyfooter themes and colors. Now the Pussyfooters march in Muses each year, so that was another cool aspect of that excellent ball, the Muses connection.

Pussyfooter having fun at her 2010 Ball

Onto predictions…

The easiest throw trend to follow merges the Saints success with Mardi Gras. At bead stores across the metro region, anything Saints is selling very fast.  Tons of black & gold beads, Fleur de Lis Medallions,  footballs,flags, pendants, bracelets, plush throws, etc. have flown off store shelves.

Muses, like most krewes, keep their new throws hidden from public view until the parade rolls. Muses has announced for their 10th anniversary ride, they have a lighted shoe bead with several flash settings, plus a plush birthday cake.  No doubt that is just the tip of the iceberg, I’m  confident that Muses is saving the best for the parade. They have more throws bearing their logo than any other krewe, numbering around 30. Their throw quality also breaks records- jewelry to be thrown by Muses for 2010 will the highest quality yet. None of this is cheap, throws are getting more expensive, which is surprising considering the recession.

I follow Minister DI from Le Krewe d’Etat on Twitter, here’s his post from July 09- Can our 3-D drinking vessel be topped? We are working on that and promise new fresh for KDE followers. Live to Ride. Ride to Live. I’m convinced that d’Etat will offer another ground breaking throw for 2010.

Rex King Greets His Subjects

Rex Jester Float

Rex, King of Carnival, throws a brilliant daytime parade on Mardi Gras Day. Their throws have always been behind the curve, as innovation has come very slowly to the School of Design’s (Rex’s organization) parade.  2010 changes all that, as Rex has gone GREEN!!! Their purple, green and gold cups will be biodegradable, and the bead string is biodegradable also. Now when Rex beads get stuck in Quercus Virginiana (the Live Oak Trees that line Rex’s St. Charles Ave. parade route) the strings will dissolve.  I’m not sure how that helps the environment or lowers the carbon footprint of beads. Nevertheless, for their cup, Rex has broken new ground that lowers its carbon footprint.

Domainer Mardi Gras Announces Dates & New Location for Their 2010 New Orleans Conference

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After a successful debut this past February, organizers of the Domainer Mardi Gras conference announced today that they will be back in the Big Easy for round two in 2010. The show will run February 11-13, at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel on Canal Street in the French Quarter, just steps from Bourbon Street. The Marriott is a new venue, replacing the Westin Canal Place. The conference secured an exceptionally low room rate for Mardi Gras season at the Marriott – just $179 a night.

The show will conclude three days before Fat Tuesday (February 16), which is the final day of Mardi Gras festivities that run for approximately two weeks with dozens of nightly parades highlighting the celebration.

The Executive Director of Domainer Mardi Gras, Michael Ward, said “Domainers stated that the inaugural show (2009) was a hit and wanted to see it happen again. We listened and are moving forward with putting together a larger than life domainer extravaganza. In addition to quality industry panel sessions, and plenty of networking opportunities, Domainer Mardi Gras will also provide over the top entertainment, all during Mardi Gras, that combined will make for an unbelievable experience.”

Domainers, publishers, registries, registrars, investors, domain parking companies, members from the ICANN community and others are all invited to attend the event. The theme and agenda for Domainer will be announced in the coming weeks.

Domainer Mardi Gras

ARTHUR HARDY MARDI GRAS GUIDE WEB SITE DOWN

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Arthur Hardy, one of the best known Mardi Gras celebrities, has published his Mardi Gras Guide for many years. His well traveled web site, http://mardigrasguide.com, is off the web as of 8:30 am, December 5, 2010. It’s back up as of 8:50 am.

Fire at Krewe du Vieux den!!

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Got this from one of the New Orleans bloggers:
Just got home. Fire trucks everywhere. KdV Den fire. Seeds, Lewd and TOKIN floats are toast. Fire out now. Looked in for a sec before being shooed away. Front right corner of the den is just pretty much gone–I mean the stuff that was in that corner. Wanted to take pics but wasn’t allowed. Will try to get over there again. No word on the cause.

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