Krewe du Vieux says 'C'est Levee'

Krewe du Vieux says 'C'est Levee'
Krewe du Vieux, the first harbinger of the Mardi Gras parade season, will roll Feb. 11 on its annual satirical parade through the Marigny and French Quarter, the the theme 'C'est Levee.'

The bawdy krewe, composed of 17 subkrewes, will roll under the reign of King Walter 'Mr. Bill' Williams. KDV, which scoffs at political correctness, is infamous for its roasts of local VIPs, politics, traditions and just about any available target.

Audience warning: This parade, one of only two to march through the Quarter (the other is the dog parade Barkus), is not for those of tender years or the easily offended. With subkrewes like the Krewe of LEWD and the Mystic Krewe of Spermes . . . well, you get the picture.


And here's the official announcement, straight from the krewe's Poobah of Publicity:

New Orleans has learned a lot this past year. We’ve learned new meanings for “open house” and “waterfront property”. We’ve learned that there are nine different types of mold and they all smell worse than a Congressional appropriations committee. We’ve learned that sometimes you can’t help but sleep on the wet spot. We’ve learned that FEMA’s just another word for nothing left to lose. And all because the Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t know the London Avenue dike from a Bourbon Street dyke.
Now the highest spot in town is the Lakeview Alps. The Superdoom turns out to have a semi-retractable roof. MR GO is hopefully MR GONE for good; too bad he took Chalmette and the Ninth Ward with him. And if you’re looking for leadership in the middle of this mess, well, happy hunting – just remember to vote whenever we finally get around to having an election.

Faced with this rising tide of disaster, in true New Orleans fashion Krewe du Vieux says, “C’est Levee”. Life’s a breach, and sometimes you just gotta go with the contraflow. So pop a cold one (pop a looter too if you have to), torch the nearest mound of trash and roast some weenies, and pretend that convoy of National Guard hummers rolling by is just another parade.

Speaking of parades, Krewe du Vieux will storm the city on Saturday, February 11, at 7:00 PM, surging through Faubourg Marigny and the French Quarter with an unusual mix of floats, FEMA trailers, brass bands, army brass, brassy broads, and brass balls.


Leading the soggy celebration will be New Orleans environmentalist and comedian Walter Williams, creator of “Mr. Bill” of Saturday Night Live fame. As Mr. Bill knows much more about flood protection than Mr. Bush or Mr. Brown, the Krewe considers its 2006 king a true wet dream. King Walter, himself a man of many breaches, will help the Krewe keep its finger in a dyke.

The projected path of this year’s parade (see attached route map) will end up with landfall at the State Palace Theater, 1108 Canal Street for the annual Krewe du Vieux Do. Doors open at 8:00 PM, with the show starting at 9:00 PM. Providing the music this year will be Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, with The Claim Jumpers (featuring Mike Hood and Michael Sklar with special guest Coco Robichaux) opening and a late night set by Juice and special guests. Tickets are $20 per person, available at the Louisiana Music Factory, 210 Decatur Street; Miss Claudia’s Vintage Clothes and Costume Shop, 4204 Magazine Street; and Up in Smoke, 4507 Magazine Street.

The Krewe du Vieux’s seventeen subkrewes will each present their own free-flowing, tree-floating, muckraking, trash-talking, trash-burning, Bush-burning, FEMA-gated interpretations of the theme. 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., Krewe of PAN, Mystic Krewe of Spermes, Krewe of Comatose, Mystic Krewe of Inane, and Krewe du Mishigas.

Also marching will be many of the city’s top brass bands. Showcasing the local brass band talent is one of the few Krewe du Vieux traditions not currently waiting for a FEMA trailer or being rejected by insurance company maladjustors.

The Krewe du Vieux is a non-profit organization dedicated to the historical and traditional concept of a Mardi Gras parade as a venue for individual creative expression and satirical comment. It is unique among all Mardi Gras parades because it alone carries on the old Carnival traditions, by using decorated, hand or mule-drawn floats with satirical themes, accompanied by costumed revelers dancing to the sounds of jazzy street musicians. We believe in exposing the world to the true nature of Mardi Gras -- and in exposing ourselves to the world.

For more information about the Krewe du Vieux parade, or to schedule an interview with King Walter Williams, please contact Keith Twitchell, Poobah of Publicity, at (504) 943-7970.

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