With the 2023 Carnival parade season six months away, krewe leaders want to know if their processions will be shortened as they were in 2022 or return to their usual lengths and routes.
As any curbside bead catcher will recall, a handful of police officers and other personnel last season prompted City Hall to cut blocks off the traditional Thoth parade route, send Endymion and Zulu on detours, and snap the tops of many other processions, including Rex. as if they were gange azalea bushes.
At a Mardi Gras Mayor’s Advisory Council meeting Thursday, the question wasn’t just unanswered, it was undiscussed.
Almost as soon as the meeting of krewe captains was called to order, council co-chairman James Reiss III, who reigned as Rex in 2022, told the assembly he was aware everyone wanted an official decision.
The Krewe of Endymion returns to “Legends of Fire and Ice” during its 55th annual parade in New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. Helen Trask Alford reigned as queen and Maurice Barre as king over the 3,200-strong Cavalry Procession of Endymion. (Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate)
Reiss assured the captains that the City is working on the issue of the length of the 2023 parade “at the highest level.” But, he said, “The short answer is, we don’t know.”
The rest of the meeting was surprisingly short. With no new business to consider, it was all over in 15 minutes…maybe 10.
If Carnival 2023 continues at the same pace, the Endymion parade could make it from City Park to the Superdome in less time than it takes to get a 12-piece family meal at Popeyes.
Mardi Gras 2023 takes place on February 21. The Mayor’s Mardi Gras Committee will meet two more times, in October and January, before the peak of parade season.
The essence of New Orleans is a yin and yang thing. Not all are killer hurricanes, but not all are rainbow snowballs. It is a balance…
The festival has been canceled the last two years due to COVID and hurricanes.
