News and information from the New Orleans area
Posts tagged Phunny Phorty Phellows
Little Known Mardi Gras Facts!!
012 years
1. Floats mounted on St. Charles Avenue streetcars? The 1900 Nereus parade tried the idea, but the experience was deemed a failure and the club gave up parading soon after. They still hold a yearly ball, however. The Phunny Phorty Phellows decorate a streetcar for their Twelfth Night ride each year, but they don’t decorate the car exterior much, and they don’t mount a float onto a streetcar.
Phunny Phorty Phellows in Action on Twelfth Night!!
2. Many krewes rent their floats, signing three to five year contacts with the float builder.
3. Not all doubloons are made from aluminum. Many krewes mint fancier ones out of more expensive metals -silver, gold, copper, brass, etc.- that are sometimes designed and painted in Europe. These doubloons are kept by the krewe members or given as krewe favors or gifts.
4. Early New Orleans parades (1860s) were built partially in Paris and finished in New Orleans. The first parade constructed entirely in New Orleans was Comus 1873, entitled Missing Links to Darwin’s Origin of the Species, built by George Soulé. The Missing Links parade was an important event in New Orleans’ Mardi Gras history, becoming one of the first major parades to use satire and political commentary. Many of the images depict figures related to the Civil War and Reconstruction, such as Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Butler, and Louisiana Governor Henry Warmoth. Also depicted are notable figures such as Charles Darwin, and Algernon Badger (head of the despised Metropolitan Police).
1873 Comus Parade – Missing Links
5. The first recorded throw was in 1871; a Twelfth Night Reveler, masked as Santa Claus, tossed small gifts to the parade crowd.
6. How much of a king is Rex, King of Carnival? In 1950, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor attended the Rex ball and found themselves face to face to face with the pretend only royalty, the King and Queen of Rex. Guess which couple did the bowing? The gracious Windsors!
7. How is the date for Mardi Gras determined? This year, the date is February 12, but any Tuesday from February 3 to March 9 could be the one. The rule is: Mardi Gras is always 46 days before Easter, which is always the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox. When is the Spring Equinox? It’s the day when the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making day and night all over the earth the same length. Since this date shifts, Easter changes, which is why the date of Mardi Gras is moveable.
8. 1899 was the year of the Big Snow. There were big chunks of ice in the Mississippi River during the final weekend before Fat Tuesday.
Phunny Phorty Phellows Ride Tonight!!
212 years
It’s Twelfth Night (Jan.6), the formal start of the 2013 Carnival Season! I hope that excites you, because it excites me! It is a short season this year, as Fat Tuesday is Feb.12. As of today, there are 37 days to Fat Tuesday!! Plus, the Super Bowl will be played in New Orleans on Feb.3. As I’ve written before, this means the parades will be split into two sections, with the nine day Super Bowl break occurring in the middle.
Twelfth Night is the start of the King Cake season, though the grocery stores put them out around New Years Day.
King Cake
YUM!! There are a million varieties of King Cakes today, we live in the true renaissance era of King Cakes. Here’s a fancy King Cake recipe from star chef Emeril Lagasse. When I first moved to New Orleans in the mid 1970s, the only type of King Cake was plain ones. Then McKenzie’s Bakeries, a local chain, produced the first filled King Cakes. Now, you can find almost any flavor possible. McKenzie’s is long gone, but their unique innovation lives on and on!
As for the PPP, or Phunny Phorty Phellows, their ride down St. Charles Avenue on a St.Charles Avenue Street Car occurs tonight.
From the PPP website: The modern organization was revived in 1981 by a small group of friends and Mardi Gras enthusiasts. It has continued without interruption to the present day. The PPP paraded with the Krewe of Clones from 1981 until 1986. In 1982 we also began a tradition of riding the streetcar line (in a streetcar) and proclaiming the arrival of the Carnival season on Twelfth Night. That is the night when the new Boss and Queen are chosen by the traditional King Cake method as well as the occasion of the sumptuous Coronation Ball. A “Carnival Countdown” take place right before the Phellows board the streetcar.
The Storyville Stompers is the official band for the Streetcar Ride and Benny Grunch and the Bunch play at the Coronation Ball.
Other innovations and features: Beautiful invitations and dance cards like 1800s by a series of royal artists: Beth Kesmodel, Hal Pluche, Jeanne Woods, Arthur Nead, and Kevin Barre.
Phunny Phorty Phellows 2009 Mardi Gras
My own Krewe of Underwear, part of the historic Krewe du Vieux, roll January 19, which is very exciting and probably a very cold evening. I’ll have to bundle up big time before rolling. I love the brass bands, the donkeys, the heavy ribald satire, and the route- we roll through the French Quarter and the Faubourg Marigny. There is no better place to be January 19 than at our parade or in it. Happy Mardi Gras to the World!!! Here’s our route-
2013 KdV Route
2012 New Orleans Mardi Gras Forecast pt 3, 12th Night Edition
013 years
by NewOrleansMusicMan
in BCS Championship Bowl, Carnival, Carnival New Orleans, French Quarter, Krewe de Jeanne d'arc, Louisiana State University, LSU Tigers, Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras Music, Mardi Gras parade, Music, New Orleans Carnival, New Orleans Saints, Orleans Parish, Phunny Phorty Phellows, Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints
This is the biggest 12th night weekend in the history of NOLA, there’s no doubt about that. 12th night is always a bit of a big deal, it’s the true launch of the Carnival Season. Add the Saints big playoff game against Detroit tomorrow and the HUGE BCS Championship Bowl on Monday in the Super dome featuring #1 undefeated LSU against #2 AL, with 1 loss against LSU 9-6.
LSU Tigers
That makes this weekend the biggest 12th night in memory!! We are not done with the huge night, the Phunny Phorty Phellows are New Orleans only St. Charles Streetcar based parade.
PPP on the streetcar on 12th night!!
Add to this the next parade, the 45-member Krewe de Jeanne D’Arc parade rides and strolls in its fourth annual parade to honor the Catholic saint.
Krewe de Jeanne D'arc leading her own parade
PARADE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. AT CONTI AND DECATUR STREETS (BIENVILLE STATUE)
- THIS YEAR JOAN AND HER SWORD WILL BE BLESSED IN FRONT OF ST LOUIS CATHEDRAL BY MONSIGNOR KERN AT APPROXIMATELY 6:15 P.M.
- CITY PROCLAMATION ISSUED BY KRISTIN GISLESON PALMER’S OFFICE WILL BE READ BY AN ACTOR PORTRAYING THE FOUNDER OF NEW ORLEANS, JEAN-BAPTISTE LE MOYNE, SIEUR DE BIENVILLE, BEFORE THE PARADE DEPARTS
- SIX JOANS ON HORSEBACK: OUR MAID OF HONOR, OUR WARRIOR JOAN, OUR “JOANIE ON THE PONY” PORTRAYED BY KRISTIN GISLESON PALMER, AND THREE ADDITIONAL JOANS ON WHITE HORSES WILL HONOR JOAN’S 600TH YEAR!
- KING CAKE CEREMONY FOLLOWING THE PARADE WITH SPEECHES IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH BY KREWE KING DAMIEN REGNARD AND KREWE MAID AGGIE BELL AND KING CAKE DONATED BY SUCRE (BUT AS ALWAYS, THE PUBLIC IS ENCOURAGED TO BRING KING CAKES TO EAT AND SHARE!)
The 4th installment of the 2012 Mardi Gras Forecast will be forthcoming in the next few days, after the super exciting weekend!
Twelfth Night 2011
014 years
I bought two King Cakes in the last 24 hours, both strawberry, one from Rouses and one from Winn Dixie this AM for the wife’s work. Both grocery chains make their own King Cakes by the thousands during the season. The small filled King Cake sells for $7.69-7.79 at the two stores. Unfilled small King Cakes retail for around $5.59 or so.
King Cake - YUM!!- photo- befitnola.com
King Cakes are HUGE in New Orleans. From January 6 until Mardi Gras Day, March 8, 2011- this is a very late date, almost the latest date possible. The weather should be warm for Fat Tuesday 2011. This allows for over 2 months from January 6 until March 8. All this time is King Cake time!! NOLA King Cakes feature more sugar than most.
Historically, King Cakes have been around Europe for centuries before New Orleans was settled. We had plain King Cakes for a long long time in NOLA. Then McKenzie’s Bakeries started filling their King Cakes, and charged like $9.95 for a Medium filled one. This was back in late 1970s as I recall.
Pretty soon, filled King Cakes had created a whole new King Cake Economic Model, based on a more expensive King Cake. Then the Mail Order Model was created, and hundreds of thousands of King Cakes started being shipped worldwide.
Who makes the best filled and unfilled King Cakes in the NOLA metro area? There are a lot of entrants, since the shipping/local markets have exploded over the last
http://bit.ly/emh7cl is a King Cakes of the World article I found while researching this post. The blog is entitled- A Malaysian in France. Here’s an European King Cake:
Northern France King Cake
2009 PPP
Tonight the Phunny Phorty Phellows take a decorated, historic St. Charles Streetcar down St. Charles Avenue from the Willow Street Car Barn onto Carrollton Avenue then down St. Charles to Lee Circle, where the Streetcar turns down Carondelet Street to Canal Street, turning on Canal to St. Charles Avenue, all the way back to Carrollton Avenue and the Willow Street Car Barn. They are accompanied by New Orleans own Storyville Stompers.
I’m a huge fan of the PPP, as they have a creative solution to float building. They take an already build historic street car, and decorate that! I’ve caught them for years on St. Charles. Cannot wait to catch them tonight. Happy Mardi Gras to the World! Go Saints! Who Dat Who Dat Who Dat!!!
Why all the Who Dats? Saints play their first playoff game defending their World Championship Win this Saturday against the Seattle Sea Hawks- Jan 8, 2011. Sat 1:30 PM, Seattle,WA Qwest Field
I’ve loved King Cakes for many years. Over the decades, I’ve preferred various types as they are developed.
2011 New Orleans Metro Area Mardi Gras Parade Schedule
214 years
Thursday, Jan 6
6pm Phunny Phorty Phellows – New Orleans’ only Streetcar parade!
6pm Joan of Arc Parade, French Quarter
Sunday, Feb 6
1pm Troy, Slidell
Sunday, Feb 13
1pm Slidellians, Slidell
Saturday, Feb 19
Noon Bilge, Slidell
7pm Krewe du Vieux, French Quarter & Marigny
Sunday, Feb 20
11am Lil’ Rascals, Metairie
1 pm Perseus, Slidell
Friday, Feb 25
6 pm Krewe of Pericles, Ponchatoula
6:30pm Cleopatra, West Bank
6:30pm Oshun, Uptown
7pm Eve, Mandeville
7pm Atlas, Metairie
7pm Gladiators, St. Bernard
7:30pm Pygmalion, Uptown
Saturday, Feb 26
Noon Alladin, West Bank
Noon Ponchartrain, Uptown
5:30pm Olympia, Covington
6pm Sparta, Uptown
6pm Caesar, Metairie
7pm Pegasus, New Orleans
7pm Mona Lisa, Slidell
Sunday, February 27
Noon Carrollton, Uptown
Noon Alla, West Bank
1pm Dionysus, Slidell
1:15pm King Arthur, Uptown
2:30pm Rhea, Metairie
5:30pm Centurians, Metairie
6pm Jupiter, Baton Rouge
Tuesday, March 1
6pm Ancient Druids, Uptown
6:45pm Morpheus, Uptown
Wednesday, March 2
6pm Saturn, Uptown
6:45 pm Muses, Uptown
7pm Thor, Metairie
Thursday, March 3
5:45pm Babylon, Uptown
6:30pm Chaos, Uptown
7pm Excalibur, Metairie
Friday, March 4
6pm Hermes, Uptown
6:30pm Krewe d’Etat, Uptown
6:30pm Selene, Slidell
6:30pm Aquila, Metairie
7pm Orpheus, Mandeville
7pm Aphrodite, St. Bernard
7:30pm Knights of Jason, Metairie
Saturday, March 5
9am Bush, Bush
11:30am NOMTOC, West Bank
Noon Iris, Uptown
12:30pm Ulysses, West Bank
1pm Tucks, Uptown
2pm MCCA, Bogalusa
4:15pm Endymion, Mid City
6pm Isis, Metairie
Sunday, March 6
10am Tchefuncte, Mandeville
11am Okeanos, Uptown
11:30am Thoth, Uptown
Noon Poseidon, West Bank
Noon Mercury, Metairie
1pm Adonis, West Bank
2:30pm Mid City, Uptown
5:15pm Bacchus, Uptown
5:30pm Napoleon, Metairie
Monday, March 7
5:15pm Proteus, Uptown
5:45pm Orpheus, Uptown
6:30pm Zeus, Metairie
Tuesday, March 8 HAPPY MARDI GRAS TO THE WORLD!!!
8:30am Zulu, Uptown
10am Rex, Uptown
10am Argus, Metairie
11am Elks Jefferson, Metairie Truck Parade
After Elks Jefferson, Elks Krewe of Jeffersonians, Metairie Truck Parade
11am Grela, West Bank
After Grela, Elks Gretna, West Bank Truck Parade
11am Lions, Covington
11am Elks Orleans, Uptown Truck Parade
After Elks Crescent City, Uptown Truck Parade
Noon Chactow, West Bank
1pm Skunks, Lacombe
1pm Chahta, Lacombe
1:30pm Folsom, Folsom