Travels with Snowbirds 2015, It's all about just pictures

Thursdays Parades,

---

2 parades tonight, one following the other. Motorcycle groups lead every parade. About 50 old fat men on yellow motorbikes for this parade. I could not read the name of their group.

Each Krewe has a lead night

---

He leads the float for his "Krewe" (A social club whose sold purpose is to have fun all year preparing for next years' Mardi Gras. They often pay large amounts of dues - $100 to many thousands per year - just to pay for the honor of being in the Krewe. Lotteries are held for Maids, Knights, and King and Queen, or they can be bought for a large enough donation. Dues pay for making the float and trinket throw aways. Each participant pays for his own costume. There is no corporate involvement or subsidy.

A Maid, for this Krewe she rode a horse

---

Other Krewes would have Maids riding on floats.

A local high school band

---

I cannot tell you how many high school bands were in these parades. It seemed that some parades had over 10. There could be over 100 marchers, from drum majors, twirlers, dance line, musicians, mascots, etc. ALL BANDS had brand spanking new uniforms for all member. Spifffy uniforms to boot with wonderful head gear. Most bands had brand new instruments, and I counted up to 9 sparkly white tubas in one band, and 3 rows of drums in their line. I found this amazing and fascinating. Who paid for all that equipment. If the bands are that large, how big is the student body? How many kids play football?? I thought some of the dancers costumes a little skimpy for high school, and some of those girls were very cold.

Float in one of the first parades

---

Parades take place over the course of the week before Mardi Gras day, the day/Tuesday before Lent starts. The closer you are to the big day, the bigger and more elaborate the parade is. Each parade has a theme, and each float must conform to that theme.

The 610 Stompers

---

rather than have a float, this Krewe dances their way down the 5 mile course of the parade. Most parades follow the same basic route, but have different start and end locations, because there are so many members and float. Most chose an end location that can park the floats while they wait for removal to storage the next day, and go inside the convention center or local hotel for a mardi gras ball after their parade work is done.

Our Tour Guide, or Wagonmster, Greg

---

This is how he gets around town. Rather than ride one of our buses, he takes his motorcycle which offers him an easier way of cutting thru traffic. 2 wheels in front, one in back?

Muffaletta

---

Or, part of one. I bought a half and ate 1/4 of that half before taking the picture. Each whole one is a whole loaf of good quality round 'italian' bread sliced in half, filled with different Italian meat and cheeses and topped with olive spread. This one was grilled like a panini, which they don't need to be. $17 for whole, $9 for half. I ate half for lunch and took the rest to the parade for dinner.

Thursday's Parade

---

A bit more colorful than those of Wednesday

Jazz Band Float

---

Everyone in this town seems to play in a 5 piece jazz band. They ride in floats, playing and drinking and playing and drinking, and sometimes insulting the crowd if they don't cheer enough. By the time paraders get to our viewing station, they are well fortified!!

Typical Thursday Float

---

Difficult to capture these pictures, sometimes the float is driving to fast, sometimes not lit enough. The floats are double decker, as you might be able to see here, and Krewe members toss trinkets from both levels.

Carrier of light

---

In years gone by, Oil lamps carried by Krewe members lit the parade route. We have street lights now but to keep the tradition alive, some Krewes have light carriers.