Alright, who else is ready for another weekend of Mardi Gras parades? I hope you are because this weekend, things step up big time and get very interesting.
Friday there’s three parades, Saturday there’s five and there’s another two on Sunday if you have any energy left!
Friday, January 25th
The Krewe of Cork starts things off early Friday afternoon at 3pm in the French Quarter. This krewe has a wine centric theme and in addition to marching, I have a feeling that there will be some wine tasting going on both during and after the parade.
After you get your taste of the wine, line up along Canal Street for the Krewe of Oshun. Or head Uptwon along St. Charles to enjoy the first full-fledged parade with floats. Sure there’s been floats in last weekend’s parades, but this is the first floats so big that they need tractors to pull them.
Right after Oshun is the all female Krewe of Cleopatra. It’s the first time that this Krewe will be parading Uptown, for their first 39 years they paraded on the West Bank. To celebrate their 40th Anniversary, they’re moving on up to the Uptown parade route.
Saturday, January 26th
The Krewe of Pontchartrain start things rolling Saturday afternoon Uptown at 1pm. There’s always a big turn out for this Krewe, so be ready to show up early to get that perfect spot to make sure you go home with all of the good throws.
Following Pntchartrain is the Krewe of Choctaw. This will be their first time parading on the East Bank. Because of the Super Bowl, they’re moving a week earlier and to the Uptown parade route. I’m looking forward to see what this Indian themed Krewe has to offer.
Take a break after Choctaw, but be ready for the smallest parade in New Orleans at 5pm in Marigny. This micro krewe has floats made out of shoe boxes to look like full sized floats. Their floats may be pint size, but this is one parade you don’t want to skip.
At 6pm, the Knights of Sparta parade through Uptown and the CBD. This year their theme is old blue eyes, none other than the legendary Frank Sinatra. I’m looking forward to singing along to this one!
Not too long after the Knights of Sparta, the Krewe of Pygmalion come marching through.
If you’re a sci-fi fan (or even if your’re not), your night isn’t over yet. Make sure you’re in the Marigny for the Krewe of Chewbacchus parade. All of the krewe’s floats, I mean contraptions are handmade and either pushed, pedaled or pulled and built on top of bicycles, homemade trailers and shopping carts. Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca in the Star War movies will be the king of this parade.
Sunday, January 27th
Things resume at noon on Sunday with the Krewe of Carrollton. The Krewe of Carrollton is one of the oldest Krewes and today it’s one of the most popular parades. It’s also part of the family friendly Sunday of parades.
Krewe of King Arthur and Merlin
Following Carrollton is Krewe of King Arthur and Merlin. This Krewe brings more than 450 members Sunday afternoon to the Uptown parade route and promise extravagant floats and loads of throws for you to take home.
Are you a dog person? Sunday at two in the French Quarter is this dog thremed parade where man's best friend is star of the day. The human's are just there to make sure all of the puppies get from point A to B without being too distracted by the fire hydrants.
After this parade passes, I suppose that you can take a break, but make sure you’re ready for the Super Bowl celebrations the week after!
A quick note for the Mardi Gras first timers, the parades Uptown generally take three-four hours from start to finish. If the parade kicks off at 6 pm, it may be a couple of hours before it reaches Canal Street.
There’s also parades this weekend in Metarie, Slidell and on the West Bank. Stay up to date with all of the parades via our parade schedule and maps.
Latest Mardi Gras News
Want More Parades? We Got 'Em!
Miss Mardi Gras? Awwwwww. Lucky for you, parades will be rolling in the Big Easy for St. Patrick’s …
Read More