News and information from the New Orleans area
Archive for February, 2009
One reason people ride/walk in Mardi Gras parades
015 years
by NewOrleansMusicMan
in Mardi Gras
One of the most unusual aspects of participating in a Mardi Gras parade is the dynamics of the eye contact between parade goer and parade participator. As the pp goes by the pg, their eyes meet. The pg, for just the moment the float passes, wants a throw. They want something from you momentarily. Many people want something badly. This passes a little bit of power from them to you. Through the course of the whole parade a lot of power accumulates in you from all this eye contact from people wanting something you have. To some degree, the bigger the crowd, the longer the feeling lasts, though it never lasts as long as as week in my experience.
2009 Krewe du Vieux rolls
015 years
by NewOrleansMusicMan
in Mardi Gras
My Float: #15, 2009 KdV sub Krewe of Underwear float
February 7, 2009- Krewe du Vieux, the only French Quarter-Marigny mule driven Mardi Gras parade, rolled around 7:00 pm. This was my first year associated with KdV. It’s the most ribald parade also, heavy on the political satire. 17 floats with 19 New Orleans Brass Bands.
I do have a history with KdV’s predecessor, the Krewe of Clones. The Contemporary Arts Center started Clones in late 70s. We learned that the person managing the parade took his partying seriously and by the time the last floats joined in the parade, he wasn’t in the best shape to conduct his duties. We would paint our old VW bus into a giraffe or elephant, and drive right into the parade. We did this for several years.
I also had my own float in Tucks for three years during the time that Tucks allowed independent floats for a price. I would rent a stakebed truck and we’d decorate this. Here’s a picture of one of my three floats. I think this is the first one. 
The fee was around $500.00 each year. 25 of my friends from around the country would come down and ride with my family and neighborhood kids.
My friend Jack got me involved with KdV a couple of weeks ago, when he mentioned that the sub-krewe he marched with, Krewe of Underwear, needed a couple of additional escorts. Escorts are the Krewe’s security force, maintaining order on the parade route. I signed up through the Krewe’s Escort Manager, Jen. It’s a volunteer position with heavy perks. In my estimation, well worth the effort.