First Parades

Friday, February 13 -- Oshun and Pygmalion
Saturday, February 14 -- Pontchartrain, Shangri-La, Sparta, and Pegasus
Sunday, February 15 -- Carrollton, King Arthur, Bards of Bohemia, and Barkus
(whew!)

The parades of the first weekend of Carnival were undeterred by a little rain, and a little rain was all it really turned out to be -- just drizzles that went on and off and weren't nearly enough to cancel anything. The Krewe of Barkus, the doggie parade through the French Quarter, actually had bright blue skies for a time and I got a bit of sun-burn.

Crowds were light and friendly, mainly locals Uptown and mainly visitors Downtown, as always. As a result of the recession, some parades were light on bands as a way of saving money; if any krewes cut corners on throws, you could not prove that by me. (Lots of good throws, including a medallion with LED lights that actually has 9 functions! And some girl in Pegasus threw me a purple-green-and-gold feather boa, which I didn't even want, but felt obliged to run up to the float to get after she gestured right at me. The honor of the thing, y'know.)

Two krewes, Pegasus and Pygmalion, chose "insider-local" themes, honoring all things New Orleans, including some best-loved "ain't dere no mo'" favorites, such as Pontchartrain Beach and K & B drugstore. This is well and good for the natives, who can be expected to reliably go, "Awwww" when they see such things, but must be a mystery to everyone else. Just another example -- as if one were needed -- of how carnival is for US, not something we put on for others.

Big Man experienced a great honor this weekend, as he marched with the Riverside Ramblers as the lead band in the Barkus doggie parade on beautiful Sunday afternoon. To hear Big Man's trumpet blare the familiar and beloved call of the first bars of "Secondline" -- bada-BAH-da! -- and the loud shouted "Hey!" of the gathered multitude was a tremendous thrill. (Don'tcha just HATE when the out-of-towners don't know they're supposed to yell "Hey!" at that moment? Practically spoils the song.)

And so now it's on to the full Carnival madness, 2 and 3 parades a night until the Big Day. Gotta gear up and pace yourself, gotta be ready. More later...