Posts tagged Rex

Final Big Weekend of Mardi Gras 2017 Approaches!

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We’re in the lull now, the two days before the 5 days of all out parades, parties and Carnival revelry. Had a great time at the parades this past weekend, and caught some cool throws. 

   Thongs Throw! Weird Throw!

 

 

2nd Weirdest Throw Caught this Weekend

 

Parades start again tomorrow with Druids and NYX. NYX has worked hard to establish their own icon throw, similar to the Krewe of Muses Shoe and the Zulu Coconut. The NYX Purse is a hand decorated purse or small hand bag. Their krewe has grown substantially the last few year as their parade presence has grown. Looking forward to their parade tomorrow night.

NYX Purse

 

Working on my purple, green and gold costume for Fat Tuesday. Always celebrate Fat Tuesday in the official colors of Mardi Gras. Though Blaine Kern Artists remain the largest of the float builders, Royal Artists is my personal favorite. I catch Zulu on Jackson Avenue, then head to Harmony and St. Charles for REX. After REX I follow the truck parades downtown, and meet my girlfriend Sue Repasky. We ate at Mandina’s later that afternoon, and it was very good.

I’ve been in New Orleans for a long time, now, and I’m excited about Mardi Gras like I was brand new to it. There is something about the combination of bands, floats, crowds, ambiance, friends, family, and tradition that makes me very happy.Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras 2917 Parade Schedule!

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2017 Mardi Gras Parade Schedule

 

Friday, January 6, 2017
Joan of Arc 7:00 p.m. French Quarter Walking Parade
Phunny Phorty Phellows 7:00 p.m. Uptown Streetcar Ride
Société Du Champs Elysée 7:30 p.m. French Quarter Streetcar Ride
Saturday, January 7, 2017
St. John’s Fool of Misrule 6:00 p.m. Covington Walking Parade
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Poseidon 1:00 p.m. Slidell
Krewe du Vieux 6:30 p.m. French Quarter Mature Themed
Krewe Delusion Follows French Quarter Walking Parade
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Little Rascals Noon Metairie
Slidellians 1:00 p.m. Slidell
Perseus 2:00 p.m. Slidell
Friday, February 17, 2017
Krewe of Cork 3:00 p.m. French Quarter Walking Parade
Oshun 6:00 p.m. Uptown
Cleopatra 6:30 p.m. Uptown
Eve 7:00 p.m. Mandeville
Excalibur 7:00 p.m. Metairie
Atlas 7:30 p.m. Metairie
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Adonis 11:45 a.m. Westbank
Nemesis 1:00 p.m. St. Bernard
Pontchartrain 1:00 p.m. Uptown
Choctaw 2:00 p.m. Uptown
Freret 3:00 p.m. Uptown
Sparta 6:00 p.m. Uptown
Pygmallion 6:45 p.m. Uptown
Caesar 6:00 p.m. Metairie
‘tit Rex 5:00 p.m. Marigny Walking Parade
Olympia 6:00 p.m. Covington
Chewbacchus 7:00 p.m. Marigny Walking Parade
Titans 6:30 p.m. Slidell
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Carrollton Noon Uptown
King Arthur Follows Uptown
Alla Follows Uptown
Dionysus 1:00 p.m. Slidell
Barkus 2:00 p.m. French Quarter Dog Walking Parade
Tchefuncte 2:00 p.m. Madisonville
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Druids 6:15 p.m. Uptown
Nyx 6:45 p.m. Uptown
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Knights of Babylon 5:40 p.m. Uptown
Chaos 6:15 p.m. Uptown
Muses 6:30 p.m. Uptown
Friday, February 24, 2017
Orpheus 6:00 p.m. Mandeville
Hermes 6:00 p.m. Uptown
Le Krewe D’etat 6:30 p.m. Uptown
Selene 6:30 p.m. Slidell
Morpheus 7:00 p.m. Uptown
Centurions 7:00 p.m. Metairie
Saturday, February 25, 2017
NOMTOC 10:45 a.m. Westbank
Iris 11:00 a.m. Uptown
Tucks Noon Uptown
Endymion 4:15 p.m. Mid-City Superkrewe
Isis 6:30 p.m. Metairie
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Okeanos 11:00 a.m. Uptown
Mid-City 11:45 a.m. Uptown
Thoth Noon Uptown
Napoleon 5:00 p.m. Metairie
Bacchus 5:15 p.m. Uptown Superkrewe
Monday, February 27, 2017
Proteus 5:15 p.m. Uptown
Orpheus 6:00 p.m. Uptown Superkrewe
Cleopatra 6:30 p.m. Houma
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Zulu 8:00 a.m. Uptown Throw Zulu Coconuts
Rex 10:00 a.m. Uptown King of Carnival
Elks Orleanians Follows Uptown Truck Parade
Crescent City Follows Uptown Truck Parade
Argus 10:00 a.m. Metairie
Krewe of Elks Jefferson Follows Metairie Truck Parade
Krewe of Jefferson Follows Metairie Truck Parade
Lyra 10:00 a.m. Covington

 

2015 Orleans Parish Mardi Gras Parade Schedule!!

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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

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

Baby Kong, Krewe of Bacchus

Baccasaurus float from Bacchus parade at Mardi Gras World

Baccasaurus float from Bacchus parade at Mardi Gras World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2013 New Orleans Mardi Gras Round Up!!!

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The 2013 Carnival season in New Orleans was one of the warmest on record, I didn’t wear a jacket until the last couple of days of the season. The Super Bowl interrupted Mardi Gras this year, so parades were held before and after the 9 day break.

Had a rather tough time at the parades this year, my large group of parade goers had winnowed down over time to just me and my beloved wife. Now that she’s gone, I saw the parades by myself. That’s not much fun, and it’s kind of sad.

I still enjoyed myself when the parades rolled. I’m such a huge Mardi Gras fan,I couldn’t help myself. I love the atmosphere, the bands, marching groups, floats, etc.

So we’ll start with the King of Carnival, REX. I dress in purple, green and gold most Mardi Gras, and this year I had a felt frog hat that added a bit of mirth to my serious costume.

REX is an old line krewe that is composed of 3 circles of membership. The inner ring is old blue blood types, and the King and Captain come from that group. The middle ring is new money types. They can become officers, but that’s it. The outside ring is composed of anyone, more or less. If you are successful in life and give something back to the community, there is a good chance REX may have a parade spot for you.

The first two rings of REX are very haughty on the parade route. They only throw to pretty girls and children. The last ring of REX throws to anyone. They are just happy to be riding with REX and give throws to the male sex even!  Obviously, the sentiments laid out here are generalizations only.

REX looked grand, it’s the best looking daylight parade by far. The floats aren’t the huge ones that Bacchus, Endymion and Orpheus use, as the float chassis are build on very old wagon bodies, with wooden wheels on the floats!! I don’t know who repairs the wheels, the last wheel wright died a while ago, and I lost touch with the process.

REX Wooden Wheels

REX Wooden Wheels

REX Cyclops Float

REX Cyclops Float

 

Zulu rolled right at 8 am on Jackson Avenue on a beautiful Mardi Gras day.  Marlin Gusman was on horseback with a gaggle of sheriff’s deputies, Mayor Mitch Landrieu was also in the parade.

Zulu appreciates costuming, and if you have a funny aspect to your costume, that only helps. Zulu has some haughty riders, but most aren’t. When the double decker, double length floats arrived, they were handing out coconuts with a frenzy. I caught 5, gave away 2 on the spot, and one later. I don’t remember any double floats in the past handing down so many coconuts.

Zulu now color coordinates their coconut colors! If the riders wore orange gowns, their coconuts were painted the same color orange.

My 3 Zulu Coconuts on Bed at Home

My 3 Zulu Coconuts on Bed at Home

I had to leave Zulu at 9 am to go home to pick up the smart card for my camera, then off to REX. On the way I say a man and his son walking around near Zulu. They were having a tough time getting there, so I reached into my bag and gave them a nice Zulu coconut. You never saw such big smiles! I was happy to give them that coconut.

Proteus the night before was one gorgeous parade. They are a very old krewe, from the late 1800s. Proteus also uses wooden wagon chassis and wooden wheels from long ago.

Proteus' Comus Float

Proteus’ Comus Float

 

Muses is the biggest all female Carnival krewe in existence. The crowds turn out for Muses, since their reputation for new, novel throws has grown large. Their most unique and rare throw, the Muses decorated shoe throw, is highly sought after. I didn’t get any shoes this year, but got lots of other unique throws, including a Muses magnetic shopping list with pad, special marker,and erasable writing surface; Muses collapsible drink flask with carabiner; Muses shoelaces in a cool plastic test tube; Muses flashlight that flashes the Muses symbol (as in Batman and the Bat signal commissioner Gordon uses to get Batman’s attention); a Muses reusable grocery shopping bag; and a Muses bead catching net. The net was a pain at the parade, all the folks who received them waved them in everyone’s faces while trying to catch throws.

I noticed for several years that Muses only throws stuff with their logo on it. That means the krewe must buy all their throws from the krewe. That’s a very expensive proposition. Most other krewes require their members to buy some throws with their logo on it, but allow the members to augment their krewe purchases with generic, cheaper throws. I bet the Muses dues is less than the cost of purchasing all those krewe throws. I really don’t think the average Muses krewe member cares. To belong to Muses, is well, one of the more divine and sublime experiences in the New Orleans Carnival world.

Krewe du Vieux rolled very early in the season, moved back a week by the Super Bowl. Nevertheless, the first parade of the season had rather warm weather this year, As readers of this blog know, I’m in KdV, and I’m very partial to it.

All the reasons- the historic parade route, the donkeys, the brass bands, and the outright over the top ribald floats- have been covered in this blog numerous times. Yes, I love my KdV!!

2013 Krewe of Underwear Float

2013 Krewe of Underwear Float

KdV Underwear Float  Detail

KdV Underwear Float Detail

Roger Goodell, long time NFL Commissioner, made a statement alluding to the KdV float, the anti Goodell signage in stores,restaurants and bars all over town, and the voodoo dolls he’s been given. He claims none of that influenced his decision to lift Saints Coach Peyton’s suspension a couple of weeks early. We all know better!

 

 

Budweiser Clydesdales 2013 Mardi Gras Schedule!!

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Budweiser Clydesdales

Budweiser Clydesdales

Here come the most incredible draft horses in the world, the fabulous Budweiser Clydesdales hitch, six huge Clydesdales at a time, pulling an old time beer distributors truck on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street.

The Clydesdale is a breed of draught horse derived from the farm horses of Clydesdale, Scotland, and named after that region. Although originally one of the smaller breeds of draught horses, it is now a tall breed. Often bay in colour, they show significant white markings due to the presence of sabino genetics. The breed was originally used for agriculture and haulage, and is still used for draught purposes today. The Budweiser Clydesdales are some of the most famous Clydesdales, and other famous members of the breed are used as drum horses by the British Household Cavalry. They have also been used to create and improve other draught breeds.

Clydesdales at pasteur

Clydesdales at Pasture

01/26: Krewe of Pontchartrain – Drive New Orleans, LA
01/27: Krewe of Alla – Drive New Orleans, LA
01/29: Mardi Gras-Single Horse – Drive New Orleans, LA
01/30: Mardi Gras-Single Horse – Drive New Orleans, LA

02/01: Krewe of Metairie – New Orleans, LA
02/02: Krewe of Olympia – New Orleans, LA
02/06-01/07: Mardi Gras-Single Horse – New Orleans, LA
02/08: Krewe of d’Etat – New Orleans, LA
02/09: Krewe of Endymion – New Orleans, LA
02/10: Krewe of Bacchus – New Orleans, LA
02/12: Krewe of Argus – New Orleans, LA

Clydesdales Line Up

Clydesdales Line Up

The breed was developed from Flemish stallions imported to Scotland and crossed with local mares. The first recorded use of the name “Clydesdale” for the breed was in 1826, and by 1830 a system of hiring stallions had begun that resulted in the spread of Clydesdale horses throughout Scotland and into northern England. The first breed registry was formed in 1877. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of Clydesdales were exported from Scotland and sent throughout the world, including to Australia and New Zealand, where they became known as “the breed that built Australia”. However, during World War I population numbers began to decline due to increasing mechanization and war conscription. This decline continued, and by the 1970s, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust considered the breed vulnerable to extinction. Population numbers have increased slightly in the intervening time, but they are still thought to be vulnerable.

 

 

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