The Fine Art of Costuming in the Krewe of St. Anne

An artistic outpouring on Mardi Gras Day

It’s 9 o’clock in the morning in New Orleans and folks are ready to celebrate! Photo by Nancy Peckenham

The major float parades during Mardi Gras are the ones you see on television, the giant, motorized parties that toss beads to the crowds along the route. But all around the city, people are holding their own marches through their neighborhoods. This year, we joined in with the Societe de Ste. Anne.

In New Orleans, membership in most parade Krewes is a major commitment, stiff dues and an entrenched hierarchy provides order to their acts. The krewe known as Societe de Ste. Anne, takes the extreme opposite view and their parade is an explosion of color and creativity open to anyone who wants to take part.

The golden jester announced the start of the 50th Anniversary parade, then did somersaults and climbed lamp posts to entertain along the parade route. Photo by Nancy Peckenham.

The St. Anne parade started 50 years, in 1969, at the height of the counter-culture movement. Residents of Bywater and Marigney wanted to protest a city ordinance to ban walking parades in the French Quarter and they gathered their creative friends to make their best costumes and march anyway. The tradition took off.