News and information from the New Orleans area
Posts tagged Adonis
Metairie Krewes Get Legal Reprieve!!
010 years
Due to infractions during the 2014 Carnival season, two Jefferson Parish krewes lost their parade permits. Both went to court to see redress and both received relief. The krewes are Zeus and Adonis.
Adonis permanent revocation was reduced to a $500 fine, and has asked to parade in Terrytown in 2015 before withdrawing their application after an email campaign was largely negative. The parish attorney said if Adonis has any new infractions, their permit will be revoked. I’ve written before about Jefferson Parish losing parades.
Here’s another story about Zeus backing off their St. Charles Parish application.
Krewe of Zeus
Zeus revocation was reduced to a one year suspension. The krewe is considering appealing that ruling. Zeus has traditionally paraded on Lundi Gras, but would lose that date after their one season suspension was served. Zeus started parading in 1958, making them the oldest Jefferson krewe.
Both krewes got into trouble with a 2009 Jefferson Parish ordinance that set standards for Mardi Gras parades. For the first time, krewes were required to field a minimum number of floats, bands, and riders. Zeus lost their permit because of four violations after their 2014 parade. Adonis didn’t have enough riders for their 2014 parade, which caused the city council to act.
The krewes think they were victims of an overzealous city council and went to court for relief. The court was accommodating, and obviously felt along the same lines as the krewe. I kind of agree, and think all krewes deserve a serious warning or two before their permit is pulled, a draconian measure to say the least. Of course, it’s more draconian in Orleans Parish than Jefferson, since Orleans has a moratorium on new parades and Jefferson doesn’t.
Either way it’s up to both krewes to show the court and the people of Jefferson they are viable parading krewes in 2015 and beyond.
Metairie Carnival Parades at Watershed Point!!
411 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.