Krewes adjusting parade schedules due to Saturday weather threat

September 02, 2024

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WVUE) - Due to inclement weather in the forecast for Saturday, Feb. 3, several Carnival Krewes are adjusting their schedules.

Friday’s Uptown parades, Oshun, Cleopatra, and Alla will start a half hour earlier due to the adjusted Saturday schedule.

NOLAReady: NOPD announced that tonight's parades will start earlier due to parades starting early tomorrow. Oshun rolls at 5:30P w/ Cleo at 6P & Alla following.

— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) February 2, 2024

According to city officials, the NOPD asked the Krewes parading tonight to move their start times up to allow for the parades to end earlier. The Krewes agreed to this request.

“As with all parade days, officers will be working on the parade route until the last parade ends,” a city spokesperson said. “As is standard procedure, staging on the parade route tomorrow will begin approximately two hours prior to the start of the parades.”

New times for Saturday (Feb. 3) parades:

LOCATION	KREWE	RESCHEDULED TIME
Covington	Olympia	4 p.m.
Lafourche	Krewe des Couyons	11 a.m.
Madisonville	Krewe of Tchefuncte	Sunday (Feb. 4) at 1 p.m.
Metairie	MadHatters	Sunday (Feb. 4) at 3 p.m.
St. Bernard	Nemesis	11 a.m.
Uptown	Pontchartrain	9:30 a.m.
Uptown	Legion of Mars	10:30 a.m.
Uptown	Choctaw	11:30 a.m.
Uptown	Freret	12:30 p.m.
Uptown	Sparta	1 p.m.
Uptown	Pygmalion	Sunday (Feb. 4) 10 a.m.

More: Saturday storms likely to impact quite a few parades + 2024 Mardi Gras Parade Schedule

The Magical Krewe of MadHatters rescheduled its Saturday night parade. The Krewe will now roll on Sunday, following the Krewe of Atlas, which will roll at 2 p.m.

MadHatters was originally scheduled to roll Saturday at 5 p.m. and Atlas was scheduled to roll Sunday at 4 p.m.

In New Orleans, officials announced schedule shifts for all six scheduled Uptown parades on Saturday.

Pontchartrain will move from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Legion of Mars will roll at 10:30 a.m.
Choctaw will roll at 11:30 a.m.
Freret will roll at 12:30 p.m.
Sparta will roll at 1 p.m.
Pygmalion has moved to Sunday, where it will roll at 10 a.m. ahead of the scheduled parades (Femme Fatale, Carrollton and King Arthur)

Collin Arnold, New Orleans’ Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the shifts were painful for the krewes, but it was a necessary change to ensure paradegoers and krewe members’ safety.

“It’s not ideal. The krewes are satisfied with what we do to make sure that their parades can still roll,” Arnold said. “Mardi Gras has almost a billion-dollar impact on the community. The parades are important to us, it’s the hallmark of what we do for almost the next two weeks.”

All krewes will have reduced marching elements, and Sparta and Pygmalion each will roll with just floats. Pygmalion’s starting point has also moved to Napoleon and Magazine.

The reduction in elements will allow the city to effort for everyone to make it home by about 5:00 p.m.

In Lafourche Parish, the Krewe des Couyons moved their 1:00 p.m. start time to 11 a.m.

The Krewe of Olympia in Covington moved their 6:00 p.m. start time to 4:00 p.m. and the Tchefuncte boat parade will now take place at 1:00 p.m. Sunday instead of Saturday.

Jefferson Parish officials say no changes have been made to Family Gras at this time.

Nemesis was originally scheduled to roll at 1 p.m. Billy Showalter confirmed late Thursday the parade had been moved up to 11 a.m.

“We are the only local parade in St. Bernard Parish. It’s the only Mardi Gras parade,” said Showalter, President of the Knights of Nemesis in St. Bernard.

“It’s not easy,” said Arthur Hardy with the Times-Picayune and Mardi Gras Guide. “You work all year for this one day, and it’s just a shame to see weather affect it.”

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