Despite its motto of "We Cannot Be Stopped!" the Krewe of Freret -- a recent reincarnation of a former longtime parading organization -- failed to win city permission to stage a parade during the 2013 Carnival season. However, it appears that the youthful organization will make good on its boast next year.
Krewe officials reported Wednesday that they have received New Orleans Police Department approval to stage a parade on the St. Charles Avenue route on the afternoon of Feb. 22, the first Saturday of the 2014 parade season. The approval was first reported by WWL-TV.
In 2013, the NOPD -- its resources strained by the need to handle the Super Bowl at the same time -- did not approve adding Freret to the city's already lengthy list of Mardi Gras parades. It apparently now has decided it can deal with one more procession.
"We could not be more ecstatic about this news, and we want to thank each and every one of you who helped us get this done," said a message on the Krewe of Freret's Facebook page.
The krewe noted that the official parade schedule must still be approved by the City Council, but the council normally endorses all the processions that have been approved by the NOPD.
"This has been a long tough process, but we could not be happier about the outcome. It has always been a dream to parade down St. Charles Avenue, and now that dream is becoming a reality," said krewe Co-Captain Robert Hjortsberg.
Krewe officials reported Wednesday that they have received New Orleans Police Department approval to stage a parade on the St. Charles Avenue route on the afternoon of Feb. 22, the first Saturday of the 2014 parade season. The approval was first reported by WWL-TV.
In 2013, the NOPD -- its resources strained by the need to handle the Super Bowl at the same time -- did not approve adding Freret to the city's already lengthy list of Mardi Gras parades. It apparently now has decided it can deal with one more procession.
"We could not be more ecstatic about this news, and we want to thank each and every one of you who helped us get this done," said a message on the Krewe of Freret's Facebook page.
The krewe noted that the official parade schedule must still be approved by the City Council, but the council normally endorses all the processions that have been approved by the NOPD.
"This has been a long tough process, but we could not be happier about the outcome. It has always been a dream to parade down St. Charles Avenue, and now that dream is becoming a reality," said krewe Co-Captain Robert Hjortsberg.
Freret's announcement follows by a couple of days news that the former longtime West Bank krewes of Alla and Choctaw will move to the St. Charles Avenue route in 2014, leaving only the Adonis, NOMTOC and Grela parades on the West Bank. The two organizations said they were making the move to Uptown because they can get more members if they can offer the attraction of riding on St. Charles Avenue.
Hjortsberg said Freret hopes to have a total of 250 to 300 riders and 14 to 16 floats, to be created by floatmaker Barry Kern. He urged anyone interested in joining to visit the krewe's website, www.kreweoffreret.org, or to follow it on Facebook or Twitter.
The original Krewe of Freret began parading in 1953. It was made up mainly of owners of Freret Street businesses. By the 1990s, Freret and other small, neighborhood-based krewes were in financial trouble because of rising costs, loss of revenue that bingo games formerly brought in and competition from splashy superkrewes such as Bacchus, Endymion and Orpheus.
In January 1995, Freret announced it would not parade that year. The krewe was not dissolving, just taking "a leave of absence," said Captain Nash Barreca, whose family owned Frank's Steak House on Freret Street for 50 years. Barreca said the krewe hoped to boost its membership and return in 1996, but that never happened.
The reincarnated krewe was established by seven Loyola University graduates in late 2011 with the goal of reviving the parade and introducing some new ideas to Carnival.
The new Krewe of Freret "was established to improve Carnival," Captain Greg Rhoades said last year. "We have the ideas, the know-how and the desire to infuse new technology and encourage more participation. Krewe of Freret was established to help the community at large beyond throwing beads one day out of the year, and we've happily donated hundreds of hours of community service, plus participated in food and toy drives."
Rhoades said Wednesday that the krewe "will be working soon with Freret businesses to host member drives, and will continue our year-round community service efforts."
No comments:
Post a Comment