There were two revealing news stories about Carnival coming out of Jefferson Parish last week. One came from a report in The Times-Picayune based on a public records request. The report gave results of the Mike Yenni administration’s review…
Random Thoughts About Carnival 2019
Lake Charles flaunts Carnival royalty at the Mardi Gras Royal Gala
Sure, it looks like rain, but no rain can stop Mardi Gras. This weekend kicks off Mardi Gras in Acadiana with Krewe de Canaille’s parade without barricades! There are more Mardi Gras-related activities to follow, including the Krewe de Chien…
Moon Pies were not invented in New Orleans, but they should have been. The confection has a New Orleans quality to it – decadent and excessive. Because they are factory wrapped in cellophane the marshmallow sandwiches are legal to toss from carnival…
There are more connections then you might think
Everything else you've heard is wrong
The excess of New Orleans (with minimal explanation)
I once had a conversation with a man who was an official of the Knights of Hermes. He was effusive about the group’s upcoming parade. “It will be the most beautiful ever,” he exclaimed. He also mentioned the parade’s…
Ochsners And Royalty
Saying goodbye to the perfect season
Uptown rolls with Mardi Gras parades
The Carnival season is in full swing in New Orleans, and now is the prime time to head to the Big Easy. The weekend before Mardi Gras is when parade-goers get to witness three of the most revered ‘super…
A Carnival Parable
The Illinois clubs: where tradition still takes center stage
The story of the Krewe of Nor
Bacchus is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, leaving a legacy of more stories than there are beads dangling from the oaks along the avenue. Here are a few of its stories: What do you do when your star says he is…
Sports has a way of stuffing emotions into game-sized packages. Victory is joyous; defeat is upsetting, though not so upsetting that we can’t get over it at a reasonable pace, especially in New Orleans where providence placed the end of…
Bacchus is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, that’s long enough for the group to have generated some sub-anniversaries including the 40th for an event that happened on February 20, 1977. And the nation was watching. That was the night…
Porta-Potties The city of New Orleans offers free porta-potties (that I personally saw being cleaned twice on the Saturday before Mardi Gras 2017) on the neutral ground side of Napoleon Avenue, catty-corner to Superior Seafood, as well as on the…
Friday, Feb. 2 French Quarter Krewe of Cork 3:00 p.m. Uptown New Orleans Krewe of Oshun 6:00 p.m. Krewe of Cleopatra follows Metairie Krewe of Excalibur 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 Slidell Krewe of Paws 10:00 a.m. Krewe of…
Owners, Bayou Throws
Powering through Carnival season
The origins of the Historic French Quarter Easter Parade.
April may be my favorite month of the year in New Orleans. The weather, by and large, is still beautiful; the flowers and flowering trees are in bloom; the city is full of music and musicians; and, while Carnival and…
We are thrilled to feature the 40th “Whitney Zoo-To-Do” and the 29th “Zoo-To-Do for Kids” presented by Tulane Pediatrics. These are spectacular parties, and this year both events will benefit the expansion of the Jaguar Jungle exhibit! Thanks so much…
St. Charles Avenue’s fifth annual Courts of Carnvial – the largest ever at more than double the size of last year – and reminds you that Mardi Gras really is the most wonderful time of year in New Orleans. Arranged in reverse…
Powering Through Carnival Season
What to do now that Mardi Gras is done.
A Rolling River Town Where Culture Runs Deep
Errol Laborde holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans and is the editor-in-chief of Renaissance Publishing. In that capacity he serves as editor/associate publisher of New Orleans Magazineand editor/publisher ofLouisiana Life magazine.
Errol is also a producer and a regular panelist on Informed Sources, a weekly news discussion program broadcast on public television station WYES-TV, Channel 12. Errol is a three-time winner of the Alex Waller Award, the highest award given in print journalism by the Press Club of New Orleans. He also received the National and City Regional Magazine Association Award for Best Column for his New Orleans Magazine column, beating out 76 city magazines across the country. In 2013, Errol received the award for the "Best News Affiliated Blog," awarded by the Press Club of New Orleans.
Errol’s most recent books are Krewe: The Early Carnival from Comus to Zulu and Marched the Day God: A History of the Rex Organization. In his free time he enjoys playing tennis and traveling with his wife, Peggy, to anywhere they can get away to, but some of his favorite spots are the Caribbean and historic locations around Louisiana. You can reach Errol at (504) 830-7235 or errol@myneworleans.com.
