Krewe of Barkus

Two weekends before Mardi Gras, the parades in New Orleans start coming one after another, sometimes rolling simultaneously. Most big ones roll down St. Charles Avenue all the way to Canal Street, but others go through the French Quarter, Marigny, on the West Bank and in surrounding suburbs. Out of all of these, the cutest parade is the Krewe of Barkus, the dog parade.

The Krewe of Barkus makes a loop from Louis Armstrong Park at Rampart and Dumaine, rolls down to Jackson Square St. Ann and Chartres, makes the corner onto St. Peters to turn back to Louis Armstrong Park. Caroline and I watched it near Jackson Square, right next to Muriel's. 

It was fun watching the dogs dressed in costumes and groups with themed costumes with their dogs walk by. Several were in carts or other DIY floats. All were adorable! Many spectators bring their dogs out to watch the parades roll, some also in costumes. Like in any parade, I walked away with a plastic cup and two strands of beads.

Check out some highlights of the parade:

Alice in Wonderland

Wizard of Oz

 

Wait...is that a polar bear??

Spider-dog!

Shout-out to the folks at the SPCA! 

Happy Mardi Gras!