Straight from the horse’s mouth, here’s the real reason that Krewe du Vieux won’t be parading on its usual route down Frenchmen and lower Decatur Streets. This is a press release from the Captain of Krewe du Vieux that lays it all out:
“There has been considerable discussion regarding the Krewe du Vieux (KdV) parade route for 2023. Krewe du Vieux would like to explain where we are and how we got here.
To provide some context, the KdV 2022 route was the shortest in the history of our parade. This truncated route was at the NOPD’s request in light of the City’s recent challenges such as NOPD staffing levels and the re-boot of Mardi Gras after a year without Carnival.
In December 2022, KdV proposed to the City a route for the 2023 parade that was similar to most prior year’s parades (other than 2022). This route allowed for generous time spent in the Faubourg Marigny and the French Quarter, passing by many of the businesses that have historically supported KdV and benefited from our parade, and giving our members the benefit of smaller streets that walking parades find preferable. NOPD regarded this proposed route as a non-starter and instead gave us two choices: Follow last year’s (2022) route (eliminating the Marigny rectangle), or add in the Marigny rectangle and eliminate the interior of the French Quarter by staying on major thoroughfares only from then on, parading down Decatur street for the entire stretch from the French Quarter to the Sugar Mill. At the time they did not provide us with a clear explanation why we should have a shortened route again, especially given that staffing issues have been resolved through the use of outside agencies such as OPSO. We negotiated with NOPD and offered significant concessions in our route, however their position did not shift. KdV was effectively being forced to pick winners and losers in light of what neighborhoods and businesses our parade would go through.
At this point KdV made a concession in agreeing to a curtailed route while still adding seven (7) blocks to the start of our parade, moving it from Elysian Fields/Royal St. to Homer Plessy/Royal Streets. We expressed our desire for this more favorable route to the city council (Freddie King and JP Morrell) and eventually the Mayor’s office. However, even with their engagement NOPD’s position did not shift.
In a meeting Friday afternoon of January 27, 2023, which included NOPD, Special Events staff, and the Mayor’s office, we were at a complete standoff. We were told that the addition of the (7) blocks of Royal St. in the Faubourg Marigny created an unacceptable traffic disruption on the French Quarter portion of our route – while this same traffic disruption was acceptable if those (7) blocks were cut out. NOPD’s position on this point in particular was completely inflexible, without a plausible explanation.
Through continued discussions, we ultimately arrived at the compromise that is this year’s route. Even we found it surprising that this route was acceptable to NOPD, as it doesn’t actually address any of the concerns they listed (crossing three major thoroughfares – Elysian Fields, Canal and Poydras) and sizeable traffic disruptions inside the French Quarter. However, it was a compromise in the truest sense – neither of us was happy, but we could both live with it. The largest disappointment to us was of course the loss of Frenchmen and lower Decatur streets. While far from perfect, this solution allowed the following:
• Returning to the Marigny rectangle which was eliminated altogether in 2022, and where our float warehouse is located
• Parading through the interior of both the FQ and the Marigny
• Returning us to a more normal parade length (last year’s was the shortest route ever)
• Eliminating a major safety risk by allowing us to line up on Homer Plessy. The line-up on Royal street last year had a number of “near-miss” incidents with cars, mules and people trying to get the parade lined up on a narrow street with heavy crowds
• Not setting the precedent of an Elysian Fields starting point or staying on major, wide thoroughfares (Decatur and Elysian Fields) in future years
• Patronizing some Royal St. businesses, particularly in the Faubourg Marigny, that were left out of last year’s shortened parade route
Krewe du Vieux, photo by Kim Welsh
A statement from the city indicated that the elimination of Frenchmen and Decatur was a choice KdV made on our own. This statement is sorely lacking in context. NOPD gave us two “non-options” and was inflexible on making either of these options more acceptable to us. We were effectively forced to find another solution. To this day we do not understand why NOPD could not be flexible and allow the addition of seven blocks in the Marigny. We remain baffled at their posture and very sad at this departure from decades of marching down Frenchman Street and lower Decatur Street.
Krewe du Vieux understands that this route change has a major impact on the businesses of Frenchmen and Lower Decatur streets. We spoke with many of these business owners and representatives immediately after the route change. As a result of the route change, KdV will return funds raised by the Shakedown from businesses that our parade route does not pass in 2023. We canceled the Shakedown event since the challenges of changing participation on such short notice given the new route were simply too large.
In future years KdV looks forward to embracing a parade route that will prioritize our spiritual stomping grounds of the Faubourg Marigny and French Quarter. We also sincerely hope that the relationships we have formed under challenging circumstances with the business owners and city officials in discussing this year’s difficulties will lead to collaboration in coming months as we plan for 2024. We cannot emphasize enough to our friends on Frenchmen St. and lower Decatur that we will be back and that we want to be on your front door. KdV has been working very hard to find that nexus of parade route and after-party site that will minimize disruptions for the City while providing our members and parade-goers the experience that KdV is known for.
KdV appreciates the hard work and support of the City of New Orleans, NOPD, Special Events, KdV members, and our loyal parade-goers. We are looking forward to a fun and safe parade in 2023.”
As the “monarch” of KdV this year, I’m extremely disappointed that the businesses and people who have supported the krewe from its inception are being excluded by the City’s decision to change the route of the parade. I certainly was looking forward to parading down Frenchmen, especially since OffBeat‘s offices were located there for 23 years, and we have supported Frenchmen Street editorially and via advertising for well over two decades.
I am glad the Krewe du Vieux leadership has decided to work closely with the businesses on Frenchmen, elsewhere in the Marigny and on Decatur Street. There is political strength in working with others who will be negatively affected by the City’s decision to disallow the parade’s traditional route. Councilman-At-Large J.P. Morrell is also to be commended for this morning announcing that he will put forward a motion to give marching krewes the same rights and benefits as the larger, old-school (and more affluent) Mardi Gras krewes.
When will New Orleans ever see that it shoots itself in the foot when debacles like this occur? There are many businesses (who provide tax revenues to the city) who are now having to refund hunreds of thousands of dollars to customers who thought they were going to be able to view KdV (as they always have) on Frenchmen and lower Decatur. This is to say noting of the hundreds of musicians, artists and suppliers who will be negatively affected by the city’s unfortunate decision.
