Krewe of Orpheus

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Krewe of Orpheus


Formation 1993
Location New Orleans
Website http://www.kreweoforpheus.net/

The Krewe of Orpheus (1993) is a relatively recent New Orleans Mardi Gras super krewe which puts on one of the largest parades in the famous Carnival celebrations of New Orleans, Louisiana. The krewe was founded in 1993 by Harry Connick, Jr. & Sr. with Sonny Borey.

Contents

[edit] History

The parade is named after Orpheus, a figure from Greek mythology, as an illustration of the power of music.
The parade is named after Orpheus, a figure from Greek mythology, as an illustration of the power of music.
 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The Krewe accepts members of either gender and any race or ethnicity, and quickly became one of New Orleans' largest, after it was founded in 1993. [1] It is a music-based krewe, taking its name from Orpheus {ohr'-fee-uhs} [2] of Classical mythology. The Krewe of Orpheus was founded by Harry Connick Jr., his father, Harry Connick, Sr., and Sonny Borey.[3] When the krewe had their first parade, on February 14, 1994, [4] it was a record high 700 riders on their parade, and they had then already established themselves as a superkrewe. The Krewe of Orpheus was the first super Krewe to include both men and women.

[edit] Parade

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The Krewe of Orpheus parades on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street on Lundi Gras (Fat Monday) - the day before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). The parade ends inside the Convention Center where Orpheuscapade begins. In addition to the floats, the parade also includes "flambeaux," stilt-walkers and several marching bands.

[edit] Parade themes

  • 2008 Cocktail Concoctions [5]
  • 2007 Tales of Transformation [6]
  • 2006 Signs and Superstitions [7]
  • 2005 Dance of the Hours [8]
  • 2004 Serenades of the Seasons [9] - a tribute to the sights, colors and sounds that mark the changing tides of the year. [10]
  • 2003 A Flourish of Fetes and Feasts [11]
  • 2001 Crescendos of Creation[12]
  • 2000 Musical Metamorpheus
  • 1999 Premieres of the French Opera [13]
  • 1996 Phoenix
  • 1995 Lyrical Legend of Orpheus
  • 1994 Rhythm, Rhyme & Revelry [1]

[edit] Celebrity monarchs

Other celebrity monarchs for the Krewe of Orpheus include Camryn Manheim, Debbie Allen, Tommy Tune, James Brown, David Copperfield, Delta Burke, Gerald McRaney, Josh Gracin and Christian LeBlanc.

[edit] Floats

The Leviathan stored at Mardi Gras World, New Orleans
The Leviathan stored at Mardi Gras World, New Orleans

Per 2008, the krewe has 36 floats. Harry Connick, Jr. wrote and recorded a song for his 1994 album She, called "Here Comes the Big Parade". The song's musicvideo shows clips from floats in the parade. The floats have a large amount of flowers, gilding and gold leaf. The flowers are made out of cardboard, wire, paint, gold leafing, some of paper mache, etc.

[edit] Notable floats

  • In 2004, they bought the Orpheus Dolly Trolley, the original trolley that was in Hello Dolly with Barbra Streisand. [24]
  • The Smoking Mary (Smokey Mary) is a float that looks like a steam locomotive
  • The Orpheus Leviathan Float has been part of the parade since 1998. It's a 139 foot, fiber-optic float. The first float ever to use fibre optic lighting.
  • Trojan Horse

[edit] Throws

The throws include emblem beads, stuffed animals, signature beads, light-up Orpheus medallion beads, cups, three different types of doubloons.

[edit] Storage

After the parade everything is stored at Mardi Gras World. The floats are taken apart and re-built there every year.

[edit] Orpheuscapade

The parade ends inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center where Orpheuscapade begins. Orpheuscapade is the post-parade black-tie party, that includes live music, food, and dancing, and it's open to the public by paid admission. The Orpheuscapade draws a crowd of over 5000 people each year.

Performers for the 2008 Orpheuscapade include: Josh Gracin, Salt-N-Pepa, Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys, Rebirth Brass Band, Bucktown Allstars, and Sha'on and the Girls with Success.

[edit] Other

  • This krewe does not have any connection to:

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Krewe of Orpheus Parade" (notes), webpage: CityGuide-NOLA.
  2. ^ The mythological name "Orpheus" is commonly pronounced "ohr'-fee-uhs" in English, although some names have a different pronunciation in ancient Greek; see "Encyclopedia Mythica: Pronunciation guide" webpage: Pantheon-pronun.
  3. ^ Broadway To Vegas February 15, 2004
  4. ^ NewsLibrary Search Results
  5. ^ nola.com
  6. ^ bestofneworleans.com
  7. ^ thehullabaloo.com
  8. ^ thehullabaloo.com
  9. ^ broadwaytovegas.com
  10. ^ mardigrasunmasked.com
  11. ^ bestofneworleans.com
  12. ^ gambitweekly.com
  13. ^ Soaps In Depth Article
  14. ^ http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1200516263295460.xml&storylist=louisiana
  15. ^ nola.com
  16. ^ wdsu.com
  17. ^ nola.com
  18. ^ satchmo.com
  19. ^ satchmo.com
  20. ^ broadwaytovegas.com
  21. ^ gambitweekly.com
  22. ^ cnn.com
  23. ^ mardigrasneworleans.com
  24. ^ Broadway To Vegas February 15, 2004

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Parades at the Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Old Line Krewes

Mistick Krewe of Comus | Knights of Momus | The School of Design (Rex Organization) | Krewe of Proteus
Super Krewes

Krewe of Endymion | Krewe of Bacchus | Krewe of Orpheus
Parading Krewes

Krewe du Vieux | Krewe of Hermes | Le Krewe d'Etat | Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club | Knights of Chaos | Krewe of Tucks | Krewe of OAK | Krewe of Muses | KOE (Krewe of Elvis) | Phorty Phunny Phellows
Non-Parading Krewes

Twelth Night Revelers | Elves of Oberon | Krewe of Athenians | Caliphs of Cairo | Krewe of Nereus | High Priests of Mithras | Prophets of Persia
Walking Clubs
Related
v • d • e
Harry Connick, Jr.
Studio vocal albums
Studio instrumental albums
Movie, TV and Broadway
Soundtracks
Music DVD/VHS
Film
TV
Related articles