NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Once again, the Phunny Phorty Phellows (PPP) will take their historic Twelfth Night streetcar ride on Tuesday Jan. 6, to announce that Carnival 2026 has begun.
The costumed and masked krewe will assemble at the Willow Streetcar Barn (right off of S. Carrollton Avenue) at 6:15 p.m. and will board the streetcar at 7 p.m. The Phellows will ride on Willow Street from the barn, take a right on S. Carrollton Avenue, turn onto St. Charles Avenue and travel to Harmony Circle. It will take the Circle and return on its route back to the streetcar barn.
Music on board will be provided by the historic Storyville Stompers Brass band.
“We are so pleased to be riding through uptown New Orleans,” said the Captain of the Phellows in a release about the 2026 ride. “We will travel a route that is the path of many Mardi Gras parades, so it’s only fitting that we honor them with our ride. We are grateful to the Regional Transit Authority for their cooperation.”
The Phellows are a historic Mardi Gras organization that first took to the streets in 1878 and ceased parading in 1898, but the group was revived in 1981. They were known for their satirical parades and today’s krewe members’ costumes often reflect current events. One Carnival historian has referred to the PPP as the “Dessert of Carnival.” This year marks the 45th anniversary of the krewe’s revival.
Visit the krewe’s website at PhunnyPhortyPhellows.com.
