The two packed weekends of Carnival parades have arrived, and the Crescent City and surrounding areas are ready to roll.
With plentiful parades in week one, it’s as easy as finding a spot and watching the fun unfold.
Friday
OSHUN: 5 p.m. Uptown. Parades hit the streets of New Orleans with Stephanie and Terrance Osborne as the reigning monarchs of this krewe, celebrating an anniversary with “Culture, Community & Legacy.” The 16 floats will celebrate all things New Orleans with grand marshals that include the descendants of the late Dorothy Mae Taylor, who introduced the city’s antidiscrimination ordinance in the 1990s. Throws include a variety of heart images, and the renown Southern University Human Jukebox band will lead the way.
CLEOPATRA: 6 p.m. Uptown. One of the largest organizations in Carnival, the 3,200 women will enjoy “Cleopatra’s Friday Night is For the Girls” with more than 57 float units, including signature floats like the Queen’s Barge, Queen Tutt and Cleopatra’s Nile — River of Life, plus the captain’s float and the title float, which will feature a tandem high-tech unit. Cleopatra LIII is Stephanie Buras. Known for their variety of throws, highlights will include member-decorated beverage glasses plus cups, jewelry, crawfish trays, candles and Cleo the Cat travel pillows and more.
EXCALIBUR: 6:30 p.m. Metairie. Jefferson Carnival gets going strong when the 250 members of Excalibur start the weekend that also features Jefferson Parish community’s Family Gras celebration. Riding 18 floats for “Celestial Knights,” floats will feature “Helios Lights the Way” and “Lunar Omens & Prophecies.” Ruling monarchs are John Vincent Valenza III and Sandra Kruse Nix. A variety of doubloons will be tossed, including a captain’s, co-captain’s, an emerald green krewe and silver krewe doubloon, plus several court doubloons. Member-decorated dragon eggs, a baby dragon plush, Scorch and Skye dragon plush and hand-strung beads and socks will fly.
EVE: 7 p.m. Mandeville. Celebrating a big anniversary, the women 775 members will be “40 & Fabulous!” on 33 floats that will include the Eve Express Train tandem float. Reigning as Queen Eve XL is Melody Menard and as King Adam XL is Cary Menard. Charter member and former captain Joycelyn Nash is grand marshal. The parade will feature a battle of the marching bands. Silver and red doubloons with the ruby anniversary theme will be thrown, plus a host of lighted throws and the fifth in the series of plush bead dogs. A red mint julep cup will be thrown, plus a plush Champagne bottle with the year the krewe was founded.
Saturday
PONTCHARTRAIN: 11:30 a.m. Uptown. The 350 women and men of Pontchartrain will feature “Super Pontchartrain!” as the theme on 16 floats with such titles as Super Trooper, Superstition and Super Mario Bros. King Pontchartrain LI is Steven Edward Sloan and Queen Pontchartrain LI is Elizabeth Hummel Merino. The krewe will also hold a band contest. One of the treasured throws will be the Plush Grouper Hat, along with a superhero cape, crawfish trays and superhero T-shirts. A special orange 10-gauge doubloon will be thrown.
LEGION OF MARS: Noon. Uptown. The 600 riders on 21 floats will salute the military and first responders, with “Defending Freedom for 250 Years.” A 60-foot Tiger float with the national champion LSU Baseball team, a super-sized tank with Army veterans, a Purple Heart salute with recipients on board and floats for each branch of the military will roll. Queen of Legion of Mars XIII is Victoria Rose Talamo. Grand marshal is Army Maj. Gen. Justin M. Swanson, of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command. The Marine Corps Band will be joined by more than 15 school bands. The Mars camouflaged “Boonie” hats are special throws as well as military- and first responder-themed throws.
NEMESIS: 1 p.m. St. Bernard. The excitement and pageantry of Carnival will arrive in St. Bernard Parish when the Knights of Nemesis rolls through Chalmette. The 330 members will ride on 15 floats. Royal Knight XX Kevin Hoffman and Goddess Nemesis XX Meghan Taffaro McMullin will rule. The knights will throw footballs, foam swords, medallion beads, frisbees, cups, chips and spears. A special throw will be the Knights of Nemesis parade T-shirts.
CHOCTAW: 2 p.m. Uptown. The unique Krewe of Choctaw will be “putting on the glitz” when the 200 members present “Choctaw Sparkles with Timeless Hollywood Glamour” on 15 floats that will include the signature traditional Choctaw Chief’s float. Serving as chief will be Troy Serpas, and the princess will be Toni Sisung. Krewe-made decorated tomahawks, rare wooden nickels from the officers and the court, and an Indian head and tomahawk cutout doubloons will be thrown.
FRERET: 3:30 p.m. Uptown. “The Pulse of Mardi Gras” is the theme for the more than 1,000 riders on floats that include Trombone Shorty and Big Freedia and an LED screen float. Members of Son of A Saint will be featured on their own float. King will be Joseph Warren Gerrity IV and Queen is Shannon E. Thomas. Freret will not throw plastic beads, and hand-painted masks made by members will be the treasured catch. Also being tossed will be hats, fanny packs, reusable totes, soap, wooden artist medallions and locally sourced items like Freret gumbo mix, Freret BBQ shrimp mix and wooden coasters.
MADHATTERS: 5 p.m. Metairie. Metairie gets merry for Mardi Gras along the traditional Veterans Memorial Boulevard parade route with the fitting theme “Alice in Wonderland.” The 800 riders will be on 35 floats that include such Lewis Carroll-crafted characters as Jabberwocky, Smoking Caterpillar and Mad Hatter. Irma Thomas will be the grand marshal of the parade, with former Saints running back Pierre Thomas as The Mad Hatter and Louisiana genre-blending country star Karen Waldrup as Alice. Prized catches at the parade include MadHatter hats, T-shirts and lighted beads.
SPARTAN SOCIETY: 5:30 p.m. Uptown. Sparta and the Mystical Order of the Phoenix join for a street pageant that celebrates “Sparta’s Silver Celebration, A Diamond Jubilee,” which will include the women of Phoenix. The 27 floats will include a mule-drawn king’s float, chariots bearing Athena and Ares and a new “supersize” signature float with the Greek warrior Agamemnon. A.C. Liles III and Jolie Hopkins reign for Sparta. Anniversary items will be thrown, including signature float, theme and monarch doubloons and a mystery throw to be revealed the day before the parade. Tandem floats will honor the members of Phoenix, who joined with the knights in 2020. Reigning as Phoenix VI will be Thea E. Narkiewicz. A cutout “blackboard” doubloon, plus a Tiffany-blue doubloon, decorated platters, hot and cold packs, puzzles, socks and plush items will fly.
OLYMPIA: 6 p.m. Covington. Shrouded in secrecy, Olympia starts the Mardi Gras season in this St. Tammany Parish city, but the crafty krewe keeps the ruling monarchs a secret, with only the queen revealed at the ball. The 500 members of the crew will parade on more than 30 floats with an unannounced theme this year. Riders will toss Olympia and lightning bolt-themed beads, doubloons, footballs, cups and more.
PYGMALION: 6:15 p.m. Uptown. The 800 members cap the first big Saturday of Mardi Gras merriment with “Tales of the Brothers Grimm” and for the first time rolls into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for Pygmalion Fest with the theme “The Princess and the Pyg,” featuring Marshmello, Mannie Fresh and Rachii. The 25 floats will have such titles as Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Brothers Grimm. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is grand marshal. King Pygmalion is Desi Vega, with Isabella Bearden as Queen Pygmalion. The captain, monarchs and the theme will be on doubloons in a variety of colors. The krewe will also throw lighted tumblers and socks.
Sunday
FEMME FATALE: 11 a.m. Uptown. The 1,400 women have one thing to say this Carnival season: “Femmes Just Want to Have Fun!” The 38 floats will carry such titles as Femmes Love Carnival, Femmes Love Happy Hour and Femmes Love Spa Day. The queen will be Lisa Ballard Jackson, and the grand marshal will be “Queen Tahj” Williams. The krewe throws signature items including a compact, metal cloisonne bottle opener, ice bucket, golf umbrella, luggage tags, pillows, Teddy bears, dolls, socks and maracas.
CARROLLTON: 11 a.m. Uptown. One of the oldest parading organizations in all of Carnival, the krewe wraps what has become known as “Carrollton Weekend” with “Date Night.” The 600 men on 23 floats depict Tequila and Togetherness, The Perfect Match and City Lights and Candle Nights. Members decorate white rubber shrimp boots to throw. King Carrollton CII is Marcel Eugene Cambus Jr. Queen Carrollton CII is Faith Elizabeth Hammons…