There’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a Mardi Gras parade from the parade route and walking home (or in some cases, staggering home) with bags full of throws and other oddities from whichever parade you happened to take in.
But that’s only the experience from the sidewalks and neutral ground.
For those of us who are not part of a Carnival Krewe, we probably don’t fully grasp the vast amount of planning, work and joy that goes into a single parade. It can be a full-time job, not a bad one mind you…but still, there’s work involved. For Kristin Danflous, her title and her full-time job is Captain of the all-ladies Krewe of Iris.
I didn’t know that being a Krewe Captain could be an actual full-time job. It was one of the many things I learned when I visited Kristin at the Krewe of Iris’ den, where their parade floats and other Krewe related stuff is stored.
It was a few days before their big parade on February 18. In the past, this time of year may have come with a mix of excitement and anxiety for Kristin, but she’s learned a lot since becoming the Krewe’s Captain in 2011. Her connection to the Krewe is familial. The Krewe’s connection to New Orleans goes back to 1917, making it the oldest all female Krewe. Among the many moving pieces Kristin had to orchestrate ahead of the parade, she managed to talk with me about the Krewe’s deep history and how it has evolved into one of the largest women’s group in the city. Listen to the story here.
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