Kicking off Mardi Gras 2009 West Bank Style

I'm seeing the sun peeking in and out of the clouds and crossing my fingers and toes and arms and eyes and everything that I have two of that the weather will hold out for the parades on this big West Bank Mardi Gras weekend.  During each parade, the Gretna Heritage Festival is sponsoring live bands at the corner of Franklin Avenue and the West Bank Expressway in the City of Gretna.  The Bucktown All-Stars perform tonight at 7:00 pm, Aaron Foret is tomorrow at noon, and the Top Cats are playing at 1:00 pm on Sunday.

The Krewe of Cleopatra will kick off the season with their parade tonight that starts at 6:30 pm in Algiers with 17 floats and the theme "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" to go along with floats decorated with different cocktail themes such as Margaritaville and Mai Tai.  This is the traditional first parade for the West Bank and the ladies of the krewe are known for being generous with the throws, so get there early and stake out the best, dry spot.

We'll be out there to catch the parade at the beginning of the route and then starting to load our own floats for tomorrow's ride with the Krewe of Choctaw.  Parading on Valentine's Day is always fun and this year's theme is "The Mardi Gras of Love".  Look for me on float 14, driver's side and I'll throw you one of the special Cupid Arrow plush spears!   Choctaw rolls with over 300 riders at 11:00 am and will be followed by the Mystic Knights of Adonis at 11:45 am.

The weekend will wrap up on Sunday with the Krewe of Alla, one of the largest West Bank krewes with 32 floats and over 500 riders, following the new Algiers, Terrytown, Gretna route starting at noon.  This year's theme is "Alla Tells Tall Tales" and the highlight of the parade is always the extra long double decker Alla-gator float.

I hope you have a safe and fun-filled weekend!

2009 West Bank Parade Route