Parade Overview -- Weekend 2(Friday, February 24 through Sunday, February 26)Friday, February 24thIn town, it's Hermes, the oldest night parade left. Hermes is your basic traditional, "old-line" krewe. It starts on Napoleon (on the river side of St. Charles), heads down St. Charles to Canal, then to the parking lot of the Convention Center and the Riverwalk, where it disbands. Hermes got started in the '30s at a time when the Depression had reduced parading in town to just Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras. It was started by a group of businessmen to liven up the weekend before Fat Tuesday, and that tradtion has remained. While the other "old-line" krewes like Momus, Comus and Proteus limit their membership to New Orleans "society," Hermes is a parade where an out-of-town businessman can join. This was an important thing in the years before the super krewes, because it allowed a company to pay for an executive to join a krewe and mingle with other businessmen on a very social level.The parade starts at 6:30, and like many traditional parades moves at a brisk pace down St. Charles. If you're going to catch Hermes on Canal, look for it between 7:45 and 8:15. In Metairie, it's the Krewe of Diana, starting at 7:00pm.
Saturday, February 25thYou've got Ulyssees and NOMTOC on the West Bank, starting at 11:00am and 11:30am, respectively. NOMTOC is the only all-black club that stages a parade (no, Zulu is *not* all-black). Also on the West Bank is King Arthur at 6:30pm.In town, there's Iris, starting at noon. Iris is the oldest ladies' krewe, parading since 1959. One thing about Carnival krewes--most of them may be all-male, but the men haven't begrudged their wives the experience of parading. Until recently, there were half a dozen all-women krewes. Following Iris at 1:00pm is Tucks. The story behind this krewe is that it was founded by a bunch of college students from Loyola in 1969. The principal founders had attempted to become the first white flambeau carriers, and were sent packing by the cops. They vowed to form their own parade, and organized it at an Uptown student watering hole named Friar Tucks. In the '70s, Tucks was a student-oriented truck parade. By the '80s, those college students had grown up and so did Tucks. They got themselves a permit, an organized route, and now they're a full-blown krewe. At 5:00pm, the first of the super krewes, Endymion, will head out from City Park and Orleans Avenues. By the start time, people will have been waiting since 9:00am on Orleans and Carrollton Avenues to get the choice front-row spots. If you're going to Endymion, plan to go early. I like to see the parade in the Mid-City area. I normally go around Telemachus and Canal, so I'm in walking distance to Mandina's, its food, beer, and most important, its restrooms. Endymion heads up Canal from the park, turning to go up St. Charles, then turns around Lee Circle to head into the Dome for their big party. For those who aren't interested in fighting the crowds at Endymion, there's Isis, an all-women krewe in Metairie, starting at 6:30.
Sunday, Februray 26th.Toth and Okeanos in the morning Uptown, starting at 11:00. Thoth starts on the river side of St. Charles, passing by many of the hospitals, nursing homes, etc., in the Uptown area. If you catch the parades on St. Charles, Toth will pass first, getting to Louisiana around 12:30-1:00pm.Mid-City starts at the foot of Canal at 1:30 and works its way downtown from there. Mid-City features animated (moving) floats, and lots of out-of-town bands. The krewe used to sponsor a serious "battle of the bands" contest, but money forced them to drop the contest. Many good bands still come down for Mid-City anyway. This is a very good parade, one not to be missed. At 6:00pm, you've got Bacchus. If you thought the crowds were big for Endymion, you ain't seen nothing yet...It starts at Napoleon and the river, and follows the traditional Uptown route. The classic floats will all be there: Bacchusaurus, the Bacchu-gator, and King, Queen, and Baby Kong. Riding Lieutenants will be throwing their own special black doubloons, as usual. The doubloons thrown from the king's float are different from those thrown by the krewe (they have the king's portrait on the back, as opposed to the theme picture on the back of the rest of the doubloons), so be sure you get one. The Westbank has Poseidon at noon, and Metairie has Mercury at 1:30pm, and Napoleon at 5:30.
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