The Krewe of Cleopatra is a

New Orleans Mardi Gras The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in all of Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Western ...

Super Krewes and social organization.

History and formation

The Krewe of Cleopatra is one of the few Super Krewes with only female members (with over 1,800 members and one of the largest parades participating in the

). The Krewe of Cleopatra was founded in 1972 by Dolores "Tuttie" Kepner, becoming the first Carnival Club for women on the West Bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. 1973 was the first year the Krewe paraded with 250 members. The

Krewe A krewe (pronounced "crew") is a social organization that puts on a parade or ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations ar ...

made its permanent move from the West Bank to the East Bank after the 2013 carnival season becoming the first all-female organization on the Uptown parade route. From 1972 to 1975 Cleopatra was co-captained by two sisters, Dolores Kepner and Joycelyn Champagne. Having appreciated parades their entire lives as natives of New Orleans, the two women decided to work together administrating an all female carnival club. Kepner's husband William Dill put them in touch with his friend and

Algiers, New Orleans Algiers is a historic neighborhood of New Orleans and is the only Orleans Parish community located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Algiers is known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. It was once home to many jazz mu ...

native, Blaine Kern Sr. of

Mardi Gras World Mardi Gras World (also known as Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World, MGW) is a tourist attraction located in New Orleans. Guests tour the 300,000 square foot working warehouse where floats are made for Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. Mardi Gras World ...

, who encouraged them to form the krewe and designed and organized the construction of the krewe's Queen Barge float which was built in Spain and debuted in the 1974 parade, and has appeared in every Krewe Parade since. Once they received the okay from the proper authorities in Gretna and

Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, The Krewe of Cleopatra was born. The krewe paraded on the West Bank for 39 years, taking one year off after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, before making their debut on the Uptown parade route in 2014. The krewe owns a fleet of floats built by float builder Barry Kern of

Kern Studios Kern Studios is a float building and entertainment design production company based in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The studio creates large floats for events like Mardi Gras in addition to props and themed environments for theme parks, casinos, and ...

, including a 3-unit signature float named, “QUEEN TUTT” in honor of the Krewe's founder Dolores "Tuttie" Kepner.

Membership

New members complete a form with accompany application fee. Once application is reviewed and approved member submits dues payment. In 2018 membership grew to over 1,000 members. The Krewe of Cleopatra is the first of the super krewes that roll during the New Orleans Mardi Gras Season and is considered a top ten 2019 parade for ridership with over 1,000 riders. In 2022 the Krewe's ridership had grown to over 1,800 members with 27 floats, including 12 tandems.

Captain

Dolores Kepner, captain and founder, was one of the top 5 longest active serving leaders in New Orleans Mardi Gras History. Kepner died on July 2, 2020, at the age of 89, after serving as the Captain of the Krewe for 48 years. The Krewe's current captain is Colleen Johnson.

Parade

The parade features floats and bands from Louisiana and Mississippi, including the bands from Terrebonne High, H. L. Bourgeois High, Copiah Academy, Oaklawn Junior High, East St. John, St. James and Morgan City high schools. The annual celebration begins with a Cleopatra pre-parade and ends with the post-parade, Cleo Jubilee. In between the pre and post-parade events, the parade travels down the Uptown parade route on

St. Charles Avenue St. Charles Avenue (french: avenue Saint-Charles) is a thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. and the route of the St. Charles Streetcar Line. It is also famous for the dozens of mansions that adorn the tree-lined boulevard for much of the ...

. Other Krewe of Cleopatra events during the year include a Rendezvous Ball in January, as well as a Masquerade Gala in September.

Parade themes

Royal court

The Krewe of Cleopatra annually presents a royal court including a "Queen Cleopatra" and the Jewels of the Nile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krewe Of Cleopatra Mardi Gras in New Orleans 1972 establishments in Louisiana