News and information from the New Orleans area
Krewe of Caesar
2015 Orleans Parish Mardi Gras Parade Schedule!!
010 years
We are roughly four months before Fat Tuesday. As we approach Halloween, the Mardi Gras drumbeats are getting louder. I’ve already heard a bunch from my own Carnival krewe, the Krewe du Vieux. We roll throughout the Marigny and French Quarter on January 31, 2015. I LOVE Mardi Gras and always have. Getting older hasn’t dulled my appetite for all things Carnival!
I used to see parades in all the surrounding parishes. I don’t anymore. I guess I don’t feel the need to dash around from parade locale to parade locale anymore. Seeing parades in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes in a single night was no biggie. Seeing the same parade in different spots
Rex Jester Float
| Day | Date | Krewe | Route |
| Sunday | January 6, 2015 | Phunny Phorty Phellows | Uptown Streetcar Route |
| Sunday | January 6, 2015 | Krewe of Jeanne d’Arc | French Quarter |
| Saturday | January 31, 2015 | Krewe du Vieux | Marigny/French Quarter |
| Friday | February 6, 2015 | Krewe of Oshun | Uptown |
| Friday | February 6, 2015 | Krewe of Cleopatra | Uptown |
| Saturday | February 7, 2015 | Krewe of Pontchartrain | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Saturday | February 7, 2015 | Krewe of Choctaw | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Saturday | February 7, 2015 | Krewe of Freret | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Saturday | February 7, 2015 | Knights of Sparta | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Saturday | February 7, 2015 | Krewe of Pygmalion | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Sunday | February 8, 2015 | Krewe of Carrollton | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Sunday | February 8, 2015 | Krewe of King Arthur | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Sunday | February 8, 2015 | Krewe of Alla | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Sunday | February 8, 2015 | Mystic Krewe of Barkus | French Quarter |
| Wednesday | February 11, 2015 | Krewe of Ancient Druids | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Wednesday | February 11, 2015 | Mystic Krewe of Nyx | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Thursday | February 12, 2015 | Knights of Babylon | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Thursday | February 12, 2015 | Knights of Chaos | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Thursday | February 12, 2015 | Krewe of Muses | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Friday | February 13, 2015 | Krewe of Hermes | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Friday | February 13, 2015 | Le Krewe d’Etat | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Friday | February 13, 2015 | Krewe of Morpheus | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Saturday | February 14, 2015 | Krewe of Iris | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Saturday | February 14, 2015 | Krewe of Tucks | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Saturday | February 14, 2015 | Krewe of Endymion | Mid-City |
| Sunday | February 15, 2015 | Krewe of Okeanos | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Sunday | February 15, 2015 | Krewe of Mid-City | Uptown – Jefferson |
| Sunday | February 15, 2015 | Krewe of Thoth | Uptown – Henry Clay |
| Sunday | February 15, 2015 | Krewe of Bacchus | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Monday | February 16, 2015 | Krewe of Proteus | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Monday | February 16, 2015 | Krewe of Orpheus | Uptown – Napoleon |
| Tuesday | February 17, 2015 | Krewe of Zulu | Uptown – Jackson |
| Tuesday | February 17, 2015 | Rex, King of Carnival | Uptown – Claiborne |
| Tuesday | February 17, 2015 | Elks Krewe of Orleanians | Uptown – Claiborne |
| Tuesday | February 17, 2015 | Krewe of Crescent City | Uptown – Claiborne |
Baby Kong, Krewe of Bacchus
Baccasaurus float from Bacchus parade at Mardi Gras World
2014 Mardi Gras Parade Schedule!!
011 years
CARNIVAL 2014 Parades
Feb. 15. Krewe of Bilge. Slidell.
Feb. 15. Krewe of Mona Lisa and MoonPie. Slidell.
Feb. 15. Krewe du Vieux. French Quarter/Marigny, New Orleans.
Feb. 15. Krewe Delusion. French Quarter, New Orleans.
Feb. 16. Krewe of Perseus. Slidell.
Feb. 16. Krewe of Little Rascals. Metairie.
Feb. 21. Krewe of Cork. French Quarter, New Orleans.
Feb. 21. Krewe of Oshun. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 21. Krewe of Cleopatra. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 21. Krewe of Excalibur. Metairie.
Feb. 21. Krewe of Eve. Mandeville.
Feb. 21. Krewe of Atlas. Metairie.
Feb. 22. The Mystic Knights of Adonis. West Bank.
Feb. 22. Knights of Nemesis. Chalmette.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Pontchartrain. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Pontchartrain. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Choctaw. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Freret. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 22. Knights of Sparta. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Caesar. Metairie.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Olympia. Covington.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Titans. Slidell.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Pygmalion. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 22. Krewe of Chewbacchus. Marigny, New Orleans.
Feb. 23. Krewe of Dionysus. Slidell
Feb. 23. Krewe of Carrollton. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 23. Krewe of King Arthur and Merlin. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 23. Krewe of Alla. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 23. Krewe of Tchefuncte. Madisonville.
Feb. 23. Krewe of Barkus. French Quarter, New Orleans.
Feb. 26. Krewe of Ancient Druids. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 26. Krewe of Nyx. Uptown, New Orleans
Feb. 27. Knights of Babylon. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 27. Krewe of Muses. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 27. Knights of Chaos. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 28. Krewe of Hermes. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 28. Krewe d’Etat. Uptown, New Orleans.
Feb. 28. Krewe of Selene. Slidell.
Feb. 28. Krewe of Centurions. Metairie.
Feb. 28. Krewe of Lyra. Covington.
Feb. 28. Krewe of Morpheus. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 1. Krewe of NOMTOC. West Bank, New Orleans.
March 1. Krewe of Iris. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 1. Krewe of Tucks. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 1. Krewe of Endymion. Mid-City, New Orleans.
March 1. Krewe of Isis. Metairie.
March 2. Krewe of Okeanos. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 2. Krewe of Mid-City. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 2. Krewe of Thoth. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 2. Krewe of Bacchus. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 2. Krewe of Napoleon. Metairie.
March 3. Krewe of Proteus. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 3. Krewe of Orpheus. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 3. Krewe of Hera. Metairie.
March 3. Krewe of Zeus. Metairie.
2012 Proteus Signature Fish Float
March 4. Krewe of Zulu. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 4. Krewe of Rex. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 4. Krewe of Argus. Metairie.
March 4. Krewe of Elks Orleans. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 4. Krewe of Crescent City. Uptown, New Orleans.
March 4. Krewe of Elks Jefferson. Metairie.
March 4. Krewe of Jefferson. Metairie.
March 4. Societe de Ste. Anne. French Quarter, New Orleans.
March 4. Krewe de Lune. French Quarter, New Orleans.
March 4. Krewe of Kosmic Debris. French Quarter, New Orleans.
March 4. Mondo Cayo. French Quarter, New Orleans.
Metairie Carnival Parades at Watershed Point!!
412 years
When I was younger and my wife was by my side, I took my family during Carnival season to a lot of parades annually. We are talking around 40 parades per season, and we saw many twice. We were as wild a bunch of parade goers as ever was, and we loved every moment of that lifestyle. We gathered up our kids and the neighborhood kids and off we went, to the Orleans parish parades first, and in those days, we went to Hayne Boulevard, Freret Street, Claiborne Avenue, Downtown, Uptown, Mid City, Metairie, the West Bank, Slidell, the North Shore, and anywhere else a Mardi Gras rolled in the Metro area.
Elks Jeffersonians Parade
Now to talk about Metairie parades, they kind of suck these days, but Alla and Caesar will never suck; they remain really good parades in all aspects. What has happened is sad, but Metairie parades have been fading in quality for a while now. Not enough bands, not enough masking and costuming by float riders. That is now, but back then, when Metairie had very good parades, they were lots of fun and very worthwhile to attend. I remember how large Thor and Mardi Gras (now gone) was, they were captained by a father-son team, who also were float builders.
I had a resume company in Metairie, my only Jefferson job. This was when the Louisiana oil patch was doing poorly, and I learned a little about a lot of jobs. My office was right on Veterans near Bonnabel, and we would go out their to hang out during parades, have our own bathroom, and brought all sorts of delectable foods to snack on. I remember catching like a zillion cups during a Thor parade years ago.
Caesar Title Float
Jefferson Parish officials fined a number of Metairie krewes because of lack of bands and not masking or costuming. $6,000 worth of fines have been assessed, more than four times the 2012 amount. The Jefferson Truck parade was charged $2,500 and the other truck parade, Elks Jeffersonians, was charged $1,800. Thor was hit with a $900 fine, Atlas $500, and Adonis $200. 2013 was the first year the Jefferson truck parades were subject to the costuming/masking requirements. They didn’t do well, did they?
Jefferson Parish officials are thinking about adding a second route. The only route for many years was down Veterans to Bonnabel Avenue, turnaround on Bonnabel, back to Veterans Boulevard to Severn Avenue, down Severn, then turn around on Severn to Veterans, then down Veterans to the end. We used to see the parade twice as it turned around on Bonnabel, running back and forth across the neutral ground to catch each float twice!
So what will happen to the Metairie Mardi Gras parades? That chapter hasn’t been fully written yet. Several krewes aren’t happy with the Veterans route, and are thinking of Metairie Road. The problem with Metairie Road is it is narrow with no neutral grounds and few sidewalks. Still, it’s a beautiful area with a good bit of shade trees (many nice oaks) despite all the shopping that has been built over the last few decades. Like Veterans, behind the stores are homes, homes, and more homes.