Caesar ceasing operations comes as no surprise to the woman leading the charge to improve Carnival in Jefferson Parish.
"Bob Carnesi, the captain of Caesar, had mentioned several years ago that he may wish to conclude Caesar with its 40th year anniversary," Councilwoman Jennifer Van Vrancken told WWL First News. "He had his granddaughter as queen last year. I think that was a culmination for him."
She says she appreciates all Caesar has added to Carnival.
"We will look forward to other parades that will join our lineup in 2020 and beyond."
Van Vrancken indicated they are already in the process of picking Caesar's replacement.
"We have parades that have already expressed an interest in moving to that Saturday night, the Saturday night of Family Gras weekend."
Last year Jefferson Parish moved Family Gras to Veterans Blvd. at Clearview and reversed the route for many of the parades... going from Bonnabel to Clearview.
"We had a meeting post-Carnival with all of the captains," Van Vrancken said. "Overwhelmingly the captains said the reverse route was a really positive one for them."
