Rolling tonight: Mystic Krewe of Hermes, Le Krewe d’Etat, Krewe of Morpheus

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The Fat Friday parades take over the Uptown parade route tonight, ushering in a busy Carnival weekend. The elegant Mystic Krewe of Hermes is followed by the irreverent Le Krewe d’Etat and the fast-growing Krewe of Morpheus. All of tonight’s parades follow the traditional Uptown route and include the family-friendly stretch of Magazine from Jefferson to Napoleon, where neighbors gather to enjoy the parades together. The night will be mostly cloudy and cooler than the past two nights, with a low in the upper 30s, according to the National Weather Service. Revelers will need to add some layers to their parade-watching outfits.

Mardi Gras

Rolling tonight: Watch the weather ahead of Babylon, Chaos and Muses

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As a cold front moves in, thunderstorms and rain showers are predicted for this evening (Feb. 16), so the city will be carefully watching the weather for tonight’s parades. The latest word from City Hall is that the parades will roll as scheduled. Check for any updates, and come prepared for a wet and chilly night. Temperatures could dip into the mid-40s, according to the National Weather Service.

Mardi Gras

Rolling tonight: Ancient Druids, Mystic Krewe of Nyx

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The steady weeklong drum beat to Mardi Gras begins tonight, with the Ancient Druids and the Mystic Krewe of Nyx parades. The all-male Druids and the all-female Nyx are known for delivering barbs back and forth, employing signs on their floats for veiled insults. This friendly rivalry can add a touch of drama to this parade weeknight. Nyx, however, has been undergoing its own dramas. Its 2022 parade was smaller than the usual extravaganza after a mass exodus from the krewe and a class action suit against its captain in 2020.

Mardi Gras

Trio of Nyx spinoff krewes roll with established krewes, focus on social justice

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The Mystic Krewe of Nyx parade grew quickly after its first parade in 2012, but its collapse was even quicker. The women’s krewe continues to parade on the Wednesday before Mardi Gras, though its 2022 parade was significantly smaller. Many Nyx members exited the krewe in summer 2020 over a controversial social media posts by krewe Captain Julie Lea as the Black Lives Matter movement was surging nationwide. At that time, some members cited other complaints about Lea’s leadership, and a class-action lawsuit was filed. If you looked closely at the Saturday (Feb.

Mardi Gras

Rolling Sunday: Femme Fatale, Carrollton and King Arthur close out the first Uptown parade weekend

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The first weekend of Uptown parades closes out Sunday (Feb. 12) with three crowd-pleasing daytime parades: the enticing Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale, the homeboy Krewe of Carrollton and the regal King Arthur. One of the city’s newest parading krewes, the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale, will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Sunday. The parades take the Uptown route, with Femme Fatale beginning on Napoleon Avenue and Magazine Street and Carrollton and King Arthur making a Magazine Street strut after starting on Magazine and Jefferson Avenue. Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale

The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale, the first parading krewe founded by and for African-American women, is staging its ninth parade with about 1,000 riders on 20 floats by Kern Studios.

Mardi Gras

Rolling Saturday: Legion of Mars debuts, leading the way for Pontchartrain, Choctaw, Freret and Pygmalion

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The first Saturday has long been very full parade day, with five krewes and their accompanying bands and dancers keeping the Uptown route lively from early afternoon until late evening. Now it’s even livelier. A new parade, the Legion of Mars, debuts this year, making the number of parades an even half-dozen. The krewe made up of military members, veterans and first-responders has previously paraded with the Krewe of Freret and with the Krewe of Alla. This year, for the first time, it has a parade of its own, leading the way on the first Saturday of Uptown parades.

Rolling tonight: Oshun, Cleopatra, Alla kick off the Uptown parade season

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Carnival is about to get rolling. The Uptown parade season begins tonight with the krewes of Oshun, Cleopatra and Alla on the St. Charles Avenue route. This is the first year since the 2020, right before the pandemic shutdown, that krewes are parading on their traditional Uptown routes. And this year the queen of Uptown’s first Friday, the Krewe of Cleopatra, celebrates its golden 5oth anniversary.

Mardi Gras

Actor and comedian Adam Devine to reign as Bacchus LIV

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Adam Devine, an actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian will reign as Bacchus LIV, Clark Brennan, captain of the Krewe of Bacchus, announced. Devine will lead the parade on Feb. 19, the Sunday before Mardi Gras. One of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central television series “Workaholics” and Adam Devine’s “House Party,” Devine is most recognized for his portrayal of Bumper in the musical films “Pitch Perfect” and “Pitch Perfect 2,” and the television series Pitch “Perfect: Bumper in Berlin.” Devine is also well known for his television sitcom roles in HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” and “Modern Family.”

Krewe of Muses

Singer Irma Thomas to ride as honorary Muse and krewe’s ‘Sole Queen’

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Irma Thomas — the Grammy Award winning, legendary blues and gospel singer known as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans” will serve as the Krewe of Muses’ 2023 Honorary Muse, Captain Staci Rosenberg announced. “On ‘Muses Thersday’, Feb. 16, Thomas will lead the parade riding in the 17-foot-tall fiber optic encrusted red high-heel shoe float.” Rosenberg said. “We refer to her as our ‘Sole Queen.’

Mardi Gras

Will Thoth roll on its traditional Uptown route?

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The Krewe of Thoth — the altruistic children-centric parade that historically rolls through Burtheville and Hurtsville before heading down Magazine Street — hopes to return to its roots Uptown. Due to police shortages in 2022, the Krewe of Thoth lost over a mile of its Uptown route, including the Henry Clay and Magazine Street portion. Its unique route was designed 75 years ago to bring Carnival to the patients at Children’s Hospital and other institutions. “We’re trying to work it out,” said Pendleton “Penny” Larson, spokesperson for Thoth. “We’re still learning how the rules are going to play out.”