| There have
been many other krewes started since the inception of Mardi Gras. Endymion,
Bacchus and Orpheus are considered "Super Krewes" because
their many floats are immense and they are generous with their throws.
My husband, Bob and my sons belong to Bacchus. The krewe was named after
the god of wine. It was formed in 1968 by 12 businessmen trying to explore
different avenues for carnival. Bacchus became at first a club whose
ball was open to tourists (on of the founders was Pip Brennan from Brennan's
on Royal Street). It has become one of the most innovative and imaginative
krewe and the most widely imitated. Their floats are the largest ever
assembled and include the Bacchasaurus (a dinosaur with riders on the
top) and the King Kong family, (King, Momma and Baby). It has become
a tradition to toss beads into King's mouth. The three piece Bacchagator
is a tandem float that carries 100 riders and the Baccha - whopper,
a giant whale, made it's first appearance the year the aquarium opened.
Bacchus was the first krewe to have celebrities as kings, Jackie Gleason, Dom Deluise, Bob Hope, John Goodman to name a few. It is the only organization where the king is involved with designing his costume. The parade has 25 super floats and is over 100 units (bands etc). It ends at the Convention Center where the ball is held. The men must wear their costumes or tuxedos, women ball gowns. As opposed to the old line staid krewe balls, the outfits at Bacchus (mine included) are as glittery and daring as you can get. Where you might look at a dress and think, "Oh, I could never wear that!" for Bacchus you think "Is it flashy enough?" A good portion of the ball is spent walking around the ball room looking at other women's gowns. |
Some of them
are incredibly tacky! The floats actually come into the ball and throw
to the "audience" then park on the outside of the area until
they have formed a circle.
Last year I had on a red, off the shoulder gown and Skylar threw so many beads at me, the top slid down! Thank goodness I had the pearls to cover me up! Iris is the woman's krewe I belong to. We are the oldest all women krewe, formed in 1917 and the only remaining parading all female krewe in New Orleans. We have 750 members. Our first parade was in 1959 and our ball was the first ever to be televised. Iris doesn't have wonderful floats, but there are lots of them. Since we are a day time parade, many of our throws are geared to kids - stuffed animals, rubber finger puppets, frisbees and other toys. We also throw beads, pearls, cups and doubloons. Our ball is a traditional old line ball, with tableaux. Babylon was formed by Dr. Frank Oser, the grand father of a friend of mine. It was formed in 1939 , and remains one of the 10 oldest parading krewes in New Orleans. The membership is made up primarily of doctors. One of the most interesting thing about the Babylon parade are the "flambeaux". These are tall torches carried by African Americans who are very adept at dancing, twirling and dipping with the torch. The flambeaux is really a long pole with a large coffee can type of container in the center filled with flammable liquid that is funneled into several small lights across the top bar. This is how the old carnival parades were illuminated in the old days. It is an honor to be chosen to be a flambeaux carrier. |
King Cake, Balls, Throws and Doubloons
