There was a time when if anyone wanted to see the parade of the Krewe of Mid-City they would likely head to lower Canal Street. Now, they have to go Uptown. The Krewe of Freret, traversed the Uptown street of that name, but now it travels mostly along St. Charles Avenue. Anyone wanting to see the Krewe of Pontchartrain would have to go toward the lake to the Gentilly area, now it too marches Uptown. The most blatant leap from neighborhood name to reality is the Krewe of ALLA, an abbreviation for Algiers. The marching group was founded to provide a parade across the river from mainland New Orleans, but now it does not parade at all on the West Bank but rather also along the East Bank St. Charles route.
We have been reminded in the past few weeks that Carnival parade routes can be like meandering streams, sometimes changing course because of shifts in the environment – geographical, economical and, most often, because the police prefer it that way.
A Bacchus-sized list of new laws governing Carnival parades has been passed by the city council as backed by the city’s Mardi Gras Advisory Committee, which consists largely of krewe representatives, but also at the urging of city budget watchers and first responders.
Parade governance changes happen periodically in the world of Carnival. There were once several parade routes in the city not just Canal Street and St.Charles Avenue, but Algiers, the Carrollton area and Gentilly. In Jefferson Parish, as a parade scene developed, Metairie Road was an early popular route.
But with the increase in parades the governments needed changes. In Orleans, the parade routes were re-ordered so that there would be only two major paths; Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue. For the police and sanitation units, the changes helped by standardizing barricade placements and parking locations. In Jefferson, Metairie Road lost out in favor of being combined into a common Veterans Boulevard route.
For some krewes, moving to the new super routes was an easy sell. When recruiting dues-paying riders, the St.Charles Avenue path was an attractive prospect. It offered population density, wide thoroughfares and visual elegance.
That is when we saw the beginning of multiple parade nights. Instead of the usual one or two parades there might be three and that changed the dynamics for the police, and the overtime budgets. The Thursday night before Mard Gras has become as popular as Bacchus Sunday with its threesome of two classic krewes – Babylon and Chaos – followed by the ever-popular Muses. All it takes though is one break down along a route and the parading can go past midnight.
Under the new laws there are time changes toward starting some parades earlier. There are also some route losses, such as Sparta and Thoth, along sections of Magazine Street.
Parades are much more than trivial celebrations and their loss can be disappointing to residents along the routes. Businesses may suffer, more importantly there is the loss to the spirit: I live near the Endymion route. I always compare the day of the parade to being an urban festival, a time of porch bands, neighbors visiting each other and impromptu street processions. The day shows the joy of what a city can be.
Money will always be an overriding consideration in regulating Carnival. The season, particularly the last few days, draws dollars into the community, but it also has a huge civic cost. One solution would be something that nearly everyone, myself included, would abhor – allowing commercialism to help pay the expenses. Look at what has happened to college bowl games. Imagine the All-State Rex parade. Yipes!
Of all the Carnival celebrations in the world, New Orleans is special because of not just the quality of the event but also because it has maintained standards.
And, if necessary, there can always be another route adjustment.
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To contact Errol, email elabordenola@gmail.com!
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS: Errol’s Laborde’s new book, “When Rex Met Zulu: And Other Chronicles of the New Orleans Experience,” (Pelican Publishing Company, 2024) is now available at local bookstores and websites.
Laborde’s other recent publications: “New Orleans: The First 300 Years” and “Mardi Gras: Chronicles of the New Orleans Carnival” (Pelican Publishing Company, 2017 and 2013), are available at the same locations.
