Mardi Gras, Inc. - 2008 St. Louis Mardi Gras: Parade Krewes

Parade Krewes

Congratulations to the 2008 Winners!

First Place Float

Mystic Knights of the Purple Haze - Frisbee Golf

Second Place Float

Krewe of Misfits - Scrabble

Third Place Float

Riverbend Krewe of Mardikrawlers - Mousetrap!

First Place Walking

Banana Bike Brigade - Barrel of Monkeys

First Place Costumes

Bonedaddy - Monkey Island

2009 Theme

The theme for the Grand Parade on February 21, 2009 is: Soulard Mardi Gras' Parade of History...

Use the online application to get your Krewe in the parade.

Let your imagination be your guide through history! You want the crowd to recognize your effort immediately but also WOW, that is one I didn't think about.

From the Stone age to the Jetsons, from Genghis Kahn to Queen Elizabeth, from the invention of the wheel to spaceflight: this theme has it all. Dust off the history books and put on your thinking caps.

New krewes apply anytime until the beginning of December. Applications accepted from returning krewes without penalty until late August

The theme this year leaves almost too much room for creative interpretation. Here are some ideas to help focus on the point. Your float should be a specific, verifiable, real fact of history. This is nonfiction, so select an event or person for your focus.

If you were thinking in the general category of music history your theme might be the Beatles or even The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Select a specific group or event, not an era or genre of music.

If you were thinking of sports history, you might not want the history of baseball, you would do better with Abner Doubleday Invents Baseball.

If you were thinking in the general category of American History your theme might be the Ride of Paul Revere, not the Revolutionary War.

Basic Krewe Information

What is a Krewe? The word "Krewe" is a generic term used to describe any carnival organization or club. The word was coined by the oldest such organization in New Orleans, the Mystik Krewe of Comus who believed in 1857 that the word gave the club's name an "olde-English" flavor.

Here in St. Louis the Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade is made up of many Krewes. Each float or marching group represents the efforts of an individual Krewe.

Who can have a Krewe? You and your friends. With some effort and creativity you and your friends can be the object of desire of hundreds of thousands of screaming revelers. What a rush!

Here are some of the steps to follow if you would like to form a Krewe:

If you are going to enter a float you will need to secure your hardware. Decide on the trailer that will be your float and tow vehicle, or, we have room in the parade for a number of walking/marching Krewes if you wish to try that approach. Selecting your entry type and equipment helps you know about how many people to involve and what the parade entry fee will be.
The purpose of the parade is to entertain the crowd. To encourage creativity there are substantial prizes involved for the best floats. All entries pass the Grand Marshal and judges review stand. The judges are looking for creativity, three dimensional design, adherence to theme and so forth.
Follow the construction guidelines for safety and reliability compliance and stock up on beads. Join the Krewe forum through the website to exchange ideas and ask questions.