The Krewe of Endymion 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 krewe and social organization.
History and formation
The Krewe of Endymion is one of only three Super Krewes (using floats and celebrity
Grand Marshal
Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military rank, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. ...
s), and is the largest of the parades participating in the
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 ...
. Many people begin saving their viewing spots for this parade several days before the parade actually rolls, although spot-saving is widely frowned upon and is discouraged. It was founded in 1966 and named after
Endymion Endymion primarily refers to:
* Endymion (mythology), an Ancient Greek shepherd
* ''Endymion'' (poem), by John Keats
Endymion may also refer to:
Fictional characters
* Prince Endymion, a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime franchise
* Raul ...
, from
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
.
The first ball was held in 1968.
Parade
The first Endymion parade rolled on February 4, 1967 in the
Gentilly neighborhood near the
New Orleans Fair Grounds
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC.
As early as 1838 Bernard de ...
horse racing facility.
The parade remained on its original route until 1976, when it was shifted to its now traditional
Mid-City route, rolling from Orleans Avenue to North Carrollton Avenue to Canal Street and into the Mercedes Benz Superdome.
The 1979 parade was moved to the
Jefferson Parish Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
suburb of
Kenner
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
due to a strike by the
New Orleans Police Department
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts.
The NOPD has a ...
which forced the cancellation of a large number of parades within the city, including fellow super krewe
Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
and all of the old-line parades, led by
Rex, King of Carnival
Rex (founded 1872) is a New Orleans Carnival Krewe which stages one of the city's most celebrated parades on New Orleans Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras Day. Rex is Latin for "Monarch, King", and Rex reigns as "The King of Carnival".
History and forma ...
and the
Mistick Krewe of Comus
The Mistick Krewe of Comus, founded in 1856, is a New Orleans, Louisiana, Carnival Krewe. It is the oldest continuous organization of New Orleans Mardi Gras festivities.
Before Comus was organized, Carnival celebrations in New Orleans were mostl ...
.
The 2003 parade was forced to the
Uptown route along St. Charles Avenue by construction of the
Canal Streetcar Line
The Canal Streetcar Line is a historic streetcar line in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA). It originally operated from 1861 to 1964. It was redesigned and rebuilt between 2000 and 2004, ...
, a circumstance which repeated in 2006 and 2007 due to a lack of manpower within the NOPD in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Endymion returned to Mid-City in 2008 and is the only remaining parade in the New Orleans city limits which does not use the Uptown route.
On February 25, 2017, an impaired driver injured between 28 and 32 people when his pickup truck hit two cars and a parade crowd and crashed into a dump truck.
Terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
was quickly ruled out when a breathalyzer test was three times over the legal driving limit.
On March 2, 2019, an impaired driver killed two people and injured seven others when he plowed through a bicycle lane during the parade.
On February 22, 2020, the parade was halted and cancelled after 13 floats, after a spectator was struck and killed between the halves of a tandem float. Following the incident, as well as a similar death during the Nyx parade earlier in the week, the city of New Orleans banned interconnected floats from the remaining Mardi Gras parades that year. Parades were canceled in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As parades resume in 2022, the city may require further safety measures surrounding tandem floats.
Celebrity Grand Marshals and Performers
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
owner
Tom Benson
Thomas Milton Benson (July 12, 1927 – March 15, 2018) was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football Leagu ...
was Grand Marshal of the 2010 parade only six days following his franchise's victory in
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
over the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. Benson was the first celebrity Grand Marshal not from the entertainment industry.
The parade was not held in 2021; it is planned for Saturday February 26, 2022, before Mardi Gras on Tuesday March 1, 2022.
Throws
Its motto, "Throw Until It Hurts", defines a tradition of being extremely generous with its throws, tossing millions of
bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
s, cups,
doubloon
The doubloon (from Spanish ''doblón'', or "double", i.e. ''double escudo'') was a two-''escudo'' gold coin worth approximately $4 (four Spanish dollars) or 32 '' reales'',
and weighing 6.766 grams (0.218 troy ounce) of 22-karat gold (or 0.917 fi ...
s and
trinket
A trinket may refer to:
* A small showy piece of jewellery, such as a jewel or a ring.
* Trinket Island, an island of the Nicobar Islands
** Trinket (village), a village on the island
* Trinket snake, common name for ''Elaphe helena'', a species of ...
s during its annual parade, held the Saturday before
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
.
Parade Theme
Unlike many other Carnival Krewes, Endymion announces the season theme months prior to Mardi Gras.
Parade Themes
Endymion Extravaganza
The parade is immediately followed with a party called the ''Endymion Extravaganza''. It was held from 1974 to 1980 at the now demolished
Rivergate Convention Center
Harrah's New Orleans is a casino in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, near the foot of Canal Street, New Orleans, Canal Street a block away from the Mississippi River. It is a casino with approximately 2,100 slot machines, over 90 table ga ...
. Since 1981, it has been held in the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
, except in 2006 when it was held at the
New Orleans Morial Convention Center
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is located in Downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The lower end of building one is located upriver from Canal Street on the banks of the Mississippi River. It is named after former Mayor of N ...
due to repairs to the Superdome 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 ...
and also in 2011 due to its final renovations. The Krewe returned to the Superdome in 2012. During the 2010s, the Krewe has had over 3000 members and over 20,000 guests at its Extravaganza.
References
*http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2017/10/endymion_crash_driver_sentence.html
External links
Endymion website
{{Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Mardi Gras in New Orleans
1966 establishments in Louisiana