Krewe du Vieux will bring its 36th-annual outrageously bawdy parade to the streets on Saturday, February 12, under the theme “Vaxxed and Confused.” After staging a series of humorous installation around the New Orleans in lieu of a parade in 2021 due to a spike in coronavirus infections, 17 subkrewes will regroup to form a full-fledged Carnival procession. Each subkrewe will present their own interpretations of the pandemic-related theme with handmade satirical floats pulled by mules or teams of members.
The parade route has been shortened from years past due to a lack of police, but currently the krewe will assemble at Elysian Fields Avenue and Royal Street with plans to commence at 6:30 p.m. through the French Quarter and into the Central Business District before disbanding at the Sugar Mill music venue, located at 1021 Convention Center Boulevard. See the map below. A post-parade Krewe du Vieux Do will be held at the Sugar Mill featuring The Quickening and the New Orleans Nightcrawlers. General admission tickets are $50 and may be purchased here.
At a press conference on February 8, officials at City Hall said there is a potential for the route to be further reduced in length if the number of volunteer police for the parade fails to meet the required number for public safety. “[Routes] will continue to be case by case based on the manpower and resources,” said Beau Tidwell, communications director for Mayor LaToya Cantrell. OffBeat will report any alterations between now and the parade date.
Dr. Jennifer Avegno, the head of the New Orleans Health Department, will reign as queen of Krewe du Vieux, but she will not be riding a float. She cited concerns over her safety due to a “the level of negativity and hatred” aimed at city officials due to COVID-19 restrictions. Avegno’s “Goddess of No” float, intended to satirize her role as a killjoy in shutting down bars and restaurants throughout the pandemic, will be present in the parade.
Subkrewes include the Krewe of C.R.U.D.E., Krewe of Space Age Love, Krewe of Underwear, Seeds of Decline, Krewe of Mama Roux, Krewe of L.E.W.D., Krewe of Drips and Discharges, Krewe of K.A.O.S., Knights of Mondu, T.O.K.I.N., Krewe Rue Bourbon, Krewe de C.R.A.P.S., Mystic Krewe of Spermes, Mystick Krewe of Comatose, Krewe of the Mystic Inane, Krewe du Mishigas, and Krewe of SpanK.
Interpretations of the theme include Krewe du Rue Bourbon renaming the Superdome the “Little Caesar’s Hot and Ready Dome” after the pizza chain, the Knights of Mondu portraying “Hunter Biden’s Art Gallery,” and the Krewe of Mama Roux sashaying as fashion models from the “House of Fauci.”
The Krewe du Vieux was founded in 1987, born from the ashes of the fabled Krewe of Clones. The Clones began in 1978, based out of the Contemporary Arts Center. This “art parade” became wildly popular for their imaginative and creative street performance art.
Paradegoers should expect floats and costumes that are strongly sexually suggestive with oversized anatomical props. View scenes from the 2020 parade here.
For more information, and to read a digitized version of Krewe du Vieux’s satirical parade-day newspaper, Le Monde de Merde, visit here.
