njthundrrd Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 (edited) I have a contact that books parades in the New Orleans, Kenner, Metarie area of LA for Mardi Gras Parades. They are looking for groups of at least 40 people. These are paying gigs for your corps. Please contact me via PM if you are interested in more information. Edited September 19, 2007 by njthundrrd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorrell Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Don't hold your breath. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dccorpsfan Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Corps at Mardis Gras...I wonder how all the drunken frat boys will react to hearing The Scouts blast Malaguena (or whatever they'd play for parades) down Bourbon Street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njthundrrd Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 Actually, Mardi Gras outside of Bourbon Street is something completely different. It is a family event with great parades, reviewing stands, where the things you see on TV do not exist. Trust me, I rode with a Mardi Gras Krewe for a few years. Web link to family Fun at Mardi Gras http://www.nola.com/mardigras/parades/inde.../excaliber.html Carnival Basics These Carnival basics are offered to first-timers, or as a brush-up for repeat revelers. Mardi Gras always falls on the Tuesday that is 46 days before Easter. It is always the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent. Carnival refers to the season of revelry before Mardi Gras. It begins officially on Jan. 6, which is known as Twelfth Night or Kings' Day, so named because it falls 12 days after Christmas on the day the Wise Men are said to have reached Bethlehem. Carnival celebrations fall into two categories: public and private. The private celebrations are balls, held by clubs called krewes. Some krewes let anyone join, while others are exclusive and made up mostly of FONOF (fine old New Orleans families). The first Carnival ball of the season is always the Twelfth Night Ball, held on Jan. 6. The public celebrations take the form of parades, sponsored by the same krewes that hold the balls for members only. Not every krewe has a parade, although every krewe will throw a party for its members. A very few krewes allow the public to buy tickets to their balls - Endymion and Orpheus, for example. About 70 groups in a four-parish area around New Orleans hold parades. Most krewes are named for figures in Greek mythology. The parade season officially begins on the second Friday before Mardi Gras, although the parade calendar is expanding. At the beginning of the season, parades are held on weekends only, then become more frequent until the week prior to Mardi Gras, when there's at least a parade a day. There are nine parades on Mardi Gras, most notably Rex. Rex (don't say "king of"; it's redundant) - always a prominent New Orleans businessman - is considered the king of Mardi Gras. (You should, therefore, sneer when you hear some Hollywood matinee idol announce to Jay Leno that he will be "king of the Mardi Gras." He won't.) Every parade has a theme, usually borrowed from mythology, history or Hollywood. Most parades have mock royalty, kings and queens and dukes and duchesses, either drawn from the ranks of the krewe's members or celebrities (hence the Jay Leno clown above). All parade riders throw trinkets - beads, doubloons, small toys, candy - from the floats to the crowds. These are called "throws." Parades consist of anywhere from 10 to 40 floats carrying krewe members, marching bands, dance groups, costumed characters and the like. Some parades are small and suburban, others downtown and lavish. The colors of Carnival are purple, green and gold, chosen in 1872 by that year's Rex. The 1892 Rex parade gave the official colors meaning: purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njthundrrd Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 I was looking at pictures from Mardi Gras from last year and came across this.... THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE LOVE MARCHING MUSIC! How it can change lives. http://www.nola.com/photos/t-p/index.ssf?rabouin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorrell Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 (edited) Corps at Mardis Gras...I wonder how all the drunken frat boys will react to hearing The Scouts blast Malaguena (or whatever they'd play for parades) down Bourbon Street. Drunken frat boys? I think it's safe to assume that you've never been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans before? Back to the original topic... What would be in it for the corps? I see that you say it is a paying gig...can a parade krewe afford a corps? For a Div 1 corps, you're talking a major expense. I know that back in my day in the 80s we didn't consider any performance for less than $5k...and that was 20 years ago! I'd imagine now it would take a cool $10K or more to lure a corps to Nawleans for a parade performance. Edited September 20, 2007 by ssorrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njthundrrd Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 Hey Steve, Good hearing from you. Won't be 5k per parade, but they can make some very serious money doing 3+ parades in a long weekend. Pioneer came down in 2004 and from what I understand had a good experience. They were in my Krewes (Excalibur) parade and did a GREAT job! Some people watch too many GGW dvds and don't realize the rich tradition that Mardi Gras has. I am lucky to have the friends that I do down there and have been to some of the most lavish banquets (Balls) and seen some of the best parades down there. If you didnt look at the video two posts up, you really should at it... Here is a great parade video that does not contain drunken frat boys... http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/video/index.ssf?Endymion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHSmirage Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 (edited) I marched Endymion two years ago with former members of "Bleu Raeders" and had a blast. I highly recommend participating if you can. Edited September 21, 2007 by MHSmirage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euponitone Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I did the whole new orleans thing this january with college band. Got to be involved in the kick off ceremony on the 6th, as well as be in a few parades. Frankly, it was the time of my life, and I would go back in a heartbeat, even if it was as a ringer marching contra in a rival corps.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I was looking at pictures from Mardi Gras from last year and came across this....THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE LOVE MARCHING MUSIC! How it can change lives. http://www.nola.com/photos/t-p/index.ssf?rabouin That is an incredible story. This band should get some attention from the media, as well as some volunteer and fundraising action from some folks. Any idea how to get this kind of thing publicized? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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