It’s been six years since a parade last rolled down Veterans Boulevard on the Monday before Mardi Gras. Now the 375-member Krewe of Centurions hopes to bring a Lundi Gras parade in 2023.
Centurions board member Michael Bourgeois said the krewe’s leadership thinks Metairie deserves a parade on the eve of Fat Tuesday. “People got up early, anyway,” to celebrate Mardi Gras, he explained. Why not present a parade?
The Krewe of Centurions was founded in 1979. As Bourgeois explained, the men and women of the Centurions traditionally rolled on the last Friday of the carnival season, until three years ago.
When Caesar’s parade folded in 2019, the Krewe of Centurions moved into its place on the second Saturday before Mardi Gras, a day that coincides with the annual Family Gras festival at the end of Metairie’s parade route.
The Krewe of Centurions parade makes its way through the streets of Metairie on Saturday, February 19, 2022. Inspired by Roman warriors, the 300-member krewe was established in the Harahan-River Ridge area in 1979, but has been based in Metairie for many years. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate)
Now the Centurians are on the march again. But, Bourgeois pointed out, they will not leave the second Saturday empty, because the Krewe of Mad Hatters also rolls on that day.
The Monday night slot has long been occupied by the Krewe of Zeus, which last paraded in 2015. The Krewe of Pandora first paraded in 2016 on Lundi Gras, but then paraded the Sunday before Mardi Gras.
The Centurions’ move to Monday night has not yet been officially approved by Jefferson Parish, which will accept parade applications through early September.
Expect to sweat. Expect intoxication (observed or experienced). Expect to sway and cheer as scantily clad marchers and dancers pass by.
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