News and information from the New Orleans area
Archive for February, 2012
Sunday, Feb 19 2012 Huge Parade Day!
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Due to a bunch of rain outs on Saturday, an incredible six parades, including super krewe Bacchus at 5:15 pm, will march down majestic St. Charles Avenue on Sunday.
Bacchagator Super Float Passes Historic Gallier Hall
Here’s the new schedule-
9 am- NOMTOC is rescheduled
Followed by rescheduled Iris
11 am- Okeanos
11:45 am- Mid City
Noon- Thoth
5:15- Bacchus
Ever since Comus stopped parading a long time ago, the Sunday before Fat Tuesday has been the longest parading day, with Okeanos, Mid City, Thoth and Bacchus. That day began with Okeanos at 11 am and ended with Bacchus’ last float around 7 or 8 pm, if you are watching from the beginning.
Bacchus is the original super krewe, outsized in all respects. Endymion had very few bands tonight, because of the wet conditions. Bacchus should have all their bands tomorrow.
Now, on this particular Sunday, Feb 19, we have the longest parade day with the most parades ever on a single day!
Saturday’s Parades Changing Days!
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Update! Endymion will be foregoing the Canal Street loop because of inclement weather.
The threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms on Saturday evening has forced NOMTOC, Tucks and Iris to switch days to Sunday and Monday. Endymion and Chewbacchus are still planning to roll today. Depending on how the weather fares this afternoon, Endymion could switch to Sunday night, following Bacchus.
Libation Dispensing R2D2
Endymion on Canal Street!
As it stands now, NOMTOC and Iris will roll before Okeanos early tomorrow morning, and Tucks will roll before Proteus on Monday at 3 pm, followed by Orpheus.
Endymion has announced they plan to roll at 5:30 pm today on their traditional Canal Street route.
Mardi Gras 2012 is in Full Swing!!!
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There’s no stopping the New Orleans Mardi Gras 2012 now. Parades resume tonight with the Krewe of Ancient Druids at 6:30 p.m. and Krewe of Nyx at 7p.m. Both use the Uptown route. So far, my favorite parade has been my own Krewe du Vieux. We have the best parade route of all parades- the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny. These are most historic sections of town, as the French Quarter was the original settlement.
Ancient Celtic Druids
Outside of KdV, my 2nd favorite parade was King Arthur, though they ran over an hour late(?) due to a shortness of rider harnesses. The Fire Department has the ultimate say so over this issue, and they delayed the parade until the harnesses were in place. They play an important role in preventing float riders from falling off.
I’m really looking forward to the 2012 edition of Muses, Babylon, d’Etat, Chaos, Hermes and the rest before the big weekend arrives and the Super Krewes hit on the weekend.
I’ve acquired some new purple, green and gold pieces for my Fat Tuesday costume. My plan for the big day? Start off with Zulu on Jackson Avenue, then on to St. Charles Avenue in time for Rex. Catch a few dozen trucks, then eat some seafood gumbo and an Italian sausage hoagie with peppers & onions. Next, I plan on going downtown to the Marigny, around Frenchmen Street to catch a few Mardi Gras tunes at the numerous cool clubs in that area.
I sure love Mardi Gras in New Orleans!!
The Democratization of Carnival!!
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Chewbacchus costs $42 for an adult, and $21for a child. My own Krewe du Vieux is under $200. I don’t know what ‘tit Rəx costs, but I know it’s very cheap.
What all this means is you can have one hell of a time from the inside of Mardi Gras krewe for not too many shekels. That’s real democracy in action!
Back in the day, krewes were both exclusive and costly. A super krewe such as Bacchus, Orpheus, and Endymion cost a small fortune, just for the throws. Is it more enjoyable to ride with a big, expensive krewe? I think not, since I have ridden with Tucks several times and with KdV more than that.
All krewes are fun, and there are all kinds of krewes. Depending on your budget, there’s a lot of fun to be had. In my opinion, it’s a lot of fun to experience Carnival from a spectator’s vantage point, but it’s even more fun to ride or walk with your own krewe.
Float 4, Krewe du Vieux 2012
'tit Rəx Float
Krewe of Chewbacchus Inaugural March Participants photo Ian McNulty
Calliope Digital, Maker of WDSU’s Parade Tracker, Claim They Aren’t!!
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This is another exclusive story for Carnival New Orleans News. On wdsu.com’s Parade Tracker site, they claim with a link and email that Calliope Digital is the creator of the mobile application. I’ve been in touch with Chris V. of Calliope Digital via email because I want to delete the program from my phone after I received over 100 texts over the course of the South Shore parades the very first night of parades! That’s way too many for me!
The graphic and text below is cut and pasted from the Calliope Digital web site-
Calliope Digital, LLC announces the release of the WDSU Parade Tracker for Android. The WDSU Parade Tracker is New Orleans’ original FREE parade tracking app for the Carnival season. Now with more parade schedules, parade routes and more real-time tracking of your favorite parades. This year, we’re tracking 30 parades in Uptown New Orleans, Metairie, and on the West Bank. And best of all, this app keeps you up-to-date with the latest carnival news and changes in parade schedules and parade routes. Get it free on Android Market today.
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The following is cut and pasted from the wdsu Parade Tracker page on the Android Market site-
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The WDSU Parade Tracker is New Orleans’ original FREE parade tracking app for the Carnival season. Now with more parade schedules, parade routes and more real-time tracking of your favorite parades. This year, we’re tracking 30 parades in Uptown New Orleans, Metairie, and on the West Bank. It’s the “must-have” app for Mardi Gras day and best of all, keeps you up-to-date with the latest carnival news leading up to Fat Tuesday, including auto-updates in schedules and parade routes.
Visit Developer’s Website› Email Developer›
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The following emails are from Calliope Digital Founder Chris Van Buskir and myself concerning me getting rid of the pesky program.
From: Chris Van Buskirk <chris@calliopedigital.com>
Subject: Re: how to remove parade tracker-
To: “David Eidler”
Me as well, as the app I built does not send notifications. We do not send texts. We do not collect phone numbers. I have no clue as to what you are talking about.
On Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 12:16 PM, David Eidler wrote:
WDSU’s site lists Calliope Digital as developer and have the link to your site and the email I used to contact CD. I’m puzzled about your response.
David— On Sat, 2/11/12, Chris Van Buskirk <chris@calliopedigital.com> wrote:
From: Chris Van Buskirk <chris@calliopedigital.com>
Subject: Re: how to remove parade tracker-
To: “David Eidler”
Subject: Re: how to remove parade tracker-
To: “David Eidler”
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2012, 11:20 AM
No I didn’t. It was probably something they did prior, so contact them directly.
http://www.wdsu.com/station/267996/detail.html
On Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 11:17 AM, David Eidler <araborecs@yahoo.com> wrote:
WDSU does, and you created the program from them. So if you cannot help me, can you give me an email to send this to so I can get this off my phone. Thanks very much.
David
— On Sat, 2/11/12, Chris Van Buskirk <chris@calliopedigital.com> wrote:
From: Chris Van Buskirk <chris@calliopedigital.com>
Subject: Re: how to remove parade tracker-
To: “David Eidler”
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2012, 11:13 AM
???? We don’t send out texts, notifications of any sort. We don’t collect phone numbers.
On Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 11:10 AM, David Eidler <araborecs@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi there,
I desperately want this off my phone. I don’t mind Orleans parade updates, but not the entire South Shore. I cannot find a way to do this, the app isn’t listed in my downloads, or my programs. Please help and Happy Mardi Gras!!
David Eidler
http://news.carnivalneworleans.com
http://watchopp.wordpress.com