Parade roundup part two . . .

Proteus floats are the most beautiful, by far.

Four parades left.

Proteus and Orpheus today (Lundi Gras); Rex and Zulu tomorrow,  Mardi Gras Day.

I don’t care if your costume’s not finished, go to Proteus and Orpheus.  Even if it’s just to see the floats.

Proteus is the most beautiful parade.  The floats are built on old cotton wagons with wooden wheels, and as the carts sway, the flowers and other details on the floats shake and the foil decorations shimmer.  These floats are made like they used to be made a long time ago.  They are small and they don’t throw much, but that doesn’t matter.  Enjoy the floats.

The front of the Leviathan - he blows smoke too!

Orpheus is big.  And also gorgeous.  This parade was started in 1993 by Harry Connick, Jr. because he’d had so much fun riding as Bacchus that he wanted his own parade.  My favorite Orpheus float is the Leviathan, a beautiful fiber-optic dragon about a block long.

Even though my costume is never done by Monday night, I always go see Proteus and Orpheus.  I go in the rain, the cold, no matter what.  The parades are too beautiful to miss.

Rex and Zulu are great to watch, but by then I’m really more about being in costume than watching parades.  So I’m going to leave you to find out more on your own.  Don’t forget about parade cam – you can watch the parades in real life from the comfort of your own home – no matter where in the world you are!.  You can also read a little bit about Zulu in a previous post here.

If you haven’t figured out, I’m not writing these posts in real time.  I couldn’t do my Carnival thing and blog as well, so I took some time a while ago and wrote up these posts quickly.  I’ll be back blogging in real time maybe by the end of the week . . .

Meanwhile, enjoy!