Description:

Carnival parades in New Orleans take many forms. It’s street theatre of the highest, and sometimes lowest, order. From the majestic uptown Rex parade on Mardi Gras Day, to the irreverent, and often adult-themed, Krewe du Vieux, which kicks off the season on Saturday, January 31 with its walking-only route through the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, to the supersized Endymion parade with its swollen floats on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, everyone has a favorite. Probably none has captured the city’s affections as thoroughly, though, as has Krewe of Muses.

Begun in 2000 by a group of civic-minded women who wanted to celebrate women in New Orleans and the role of the Nine Muses, in Greek mythology the daughters of Zeus who inspire all forms of the arts, Muses has developed the most sought-after throw in Mardi Gras annals—the Muses shoe. The shoes are hand-decorated by the krewe members, who employ all their creativity to outdo whatever they came up with last year.   And the Honorary Muse rides in a 17-foot high optic shoe! As the first all-female Krewe to parade uptown in New Orleans at night, the Krewe of Muses has always focused on community involvement, particularly for programs for women and children.

Krewe of Muses has helped area children with its cup-decorating contest for throws, making a $500 donation to the winning child’s school for arts programming, and it’s created the Muses Foundation, to allow it to receive charitable donations to fund charitable gifts. It’s not just another pretty parade! This year’s parade is Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 6:30PM.