J.K. Simmons, Bacchus L, throws beads into the crowd along Napoleon avenue. The Krewe of Bacchus rolled with the theme “Bacchus Celebrates Its Golden Anniversary” during their parade on Sunday, February 11. (Zach Brien, UptownMessenger.com)
The Krewe of Bacchus celebrated a major anniversary this year. They made 50, their golden anniversary. With that in mind, most of this year’s floats were gold-themed. It’s “Gold Record” float paid tribute to musicians like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss and more who have been awarded a golden record for their achievements. It’s “Goldfinger” float paid tribute to the James Bond film by the same name. Actor J.K. Simmons served as the king this year.
Weather has been a problem all throughout the second weekend of carnival season. Sunday was no exception. Fortunately, the parade ran on time, unlike Endymion and other parades. Aside from intermittent rainfall, the parade was uninterrupted by Mother Nature.
One of the hidden gems of Bacchus proved to be the battle of bands that takes place before the parade rolls. The collegiate bands marching in the parade, Southern University, Texas State University, Miles College and Kentucky State University, lined up in front of the Rouse’s Supermarket on Tchoupitoulas and competed. Hundreds of people packed sidewalks and porches or even scaled walls just to get a good look at the competition. In the final head-to-head matchup, Southern University told Mills College “y’all sound like a high school band!”
Continue reading »
