Mardis Gras 2008

[njthundrrd]

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. The first parade they are asking me about is on Jan 25th.

These are paying gigs for your corps.

Please contact me via PM if you are interested in more information.

[njthundrrd]

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.

[taters]

Right and I describe Bourbon Street using the three B's Boobs, Beer and Barf all three which are present in copious quantities

[JimF-LowBari]

LOL, went to Nah 'Leans for work one December and we booked a hotel on Bourbon Street. Bad move as we were the only people on the street who had to be at work early in the morning. Biggest problem walking B Street before it gets crowded is you're an easy mark for all the con artists, beggers and shills scoping out the tourists.

Best line is the ZZ Top looking biker type shill in front of a strip club. He saw us walking by a few times and yelled "Come on in boys... you might learn to like girls".

[ravedodger]

I marched with the GNODCA last year in Metarie and had a blast in the Mardi Gras that almost wasn't. Very appreciative crowds there in the NO area.

[njthundrrd]

Metarie has some great parades....Remember, this is not Bourbon St. Mardi Gras is all over the state and the local parades pay well and are more of a family environment. Just like a parade in any town and any state. Just bigger and with throws off of floats. I rode for 3 years and never saw anything bad in Metarie (you might think that's bad, but there is a time and PLACE for everything at Mardi Gras)

If your group wants to come and march, you can contact me here.

Here is a list of parades in the NOLA area for the Mardi Gras season.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 6• Phunny Phorty Phellows - Streetcar route, 7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8• Krewe of Claude - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8• Little Rascals - Metairie, 11:00 a.m.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15• Slidellians - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

• Krewe of Antony and Cleopatra - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21• Bilge - Slidell, noon

• Krewe of Driftwood - Kenner, 1:00 p.m.

• Krewe du Vieux - French Quarter, 7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22• Perseus - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

• Pearl River Lions Club Parade - Pearl River, 1:15 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17• Cleopatra - West Bank, 6:30 p.m.

• Oshun - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.

• Pygmalion - Uptown, 7:30 p.m.

• Atlas - Metairie, 6:30 p.m.

• Excalibur - Metairie, 7:00 p.m.

• Eve - Mandeville, 7:00 p.m.

• Gladiator - St. Bernard, 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18• Krewe of Push Mow - Abita Springs, 11:00 a.m.

• Aladdin - Westbank, noon

• Pontchartrain - Uptown, noon

• Shangri-La - Uptown, 1:00 p.m.

• Caesar - Metairie, 6:00 p.m.

• Olympia - Covington, 6:00 p.m.

• Sparta - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.

• Arabi - St. Bernard, 6:30 p.m.

• Pegasus - Uptown, 6:45 p.m.

• Mona Lisa and Moon Pie Parade - Slidell, 7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19• Alla - West Bank, noon

• Carrollton - Uptown, noon

• Dionysus - Slidell, 1:00 p.m.

• King Arthur & Merlin - Uptown, 1:15 p.m.

• Barkus - French Quarter, 2:00 p.m.

• Bards of Bohemia - Uptown, 2:30 p.m.

• Rhea - Metairie, 2:30 p.m.

• Mercury - Metairie, 4:00 p.m.

• Centurions - Metairie, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21• Ancient Druids - Uptown, 6:30 p.m.

• Krewe of Morpheus - Uptown, 6:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22• Saturn - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.

• Muses - Uptown, 6:45 p.m.

• Thor - Metairie, 7:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23• Babylon - Uptown, 5:45 p.m.

• Chaos - Uptown, 6:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24• Hermes - Uptown, 6:00 p.m.

• Krewe d'Etat - Uptown, 6:30 p.m.

• Selene - Slidell, 6:30 p.m.

• Aquila - Metairie, 7:00 p.m.

• Knights of Jason - Metairie, 7:30 p.m.

• Aphrodite - Chalmette, 7:00 p.m.

• Orpheus - Mandeville, 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25• Bush - Bush, 9:00 a.m.

• NOMTOC - West Bank, 11:30 a.m.

• Iris - Uptown, 11:00 a.m.

• Krewe of Salt Bayou - Slidell, noon

• Vulcan - River Ridge, noon

• Tucks - Uptown, 12:30 p.m.

• Endymion - Mid-City, 4:30 p.m.

• Isis - Metairie, 6:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26• Tchefuncte - Madisonville, 10:00 a.m.

• Okeanos - Uptown, 11:00 a.m.

• Thoth - Uptown, 11:30 a.m.

• Adonis - West Bank, noon

• Grand Isle Independent Mardi Gras Parade - Grand Isle, 1:00 p.m.

• Mid-City - Uptown, 2:00 p.m.

• Bacchus - Uptown, 5:15 p.m.

• Corps de Napoleon - Metairie, 5:30 p.m.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27• Proteus - Uptown, 5:15 p.m.

• Orpheus - Uptown, 5:45 p.m.

• Zeus - Metairie, 6:30 p.m.

MARDI GRAS, FEBRUARY 28• Zulu - Uptown, 8:30 a.m.

• Rex - Uptown, 10:00 a.m.

• Argus - Metairie, 10:00 a.m.

• Mystic Krewe of Covington - Covington, 10:00 a.m.

• Lions - Covington, 10:00 a.m.

• Elks - Jeff. - Metairie, 11:00 a.m.

• Grela - West Bank, 11:00 a.m.

• Jefferson - Metairie, 11:00 a.m.

• Elks- Orl. - Uptown, 11:30 a.m.

• Crescent City - Uptown, after Elks

• Krewe of Choctaw - Grenta, noon

• Skunks - Lacombe, 1:00 p.m.

• Chahta-Ima - Lacombe, 1:30 p.m.