MARDI GRAS GUIDE 2020 169

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The 73rd annual parade of the Krewe of Thoth parade is entitled AS THE WORLD TURNS. More than 1,900 men will ride 39 fl oats (15 tandems) which

salute such cities as Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and New York. A new three-section train fl oat debuts this year. Tom Collins reigns as king and Ashley Grace Heller is Thoth’s queen. Grand Marshal Louis Prima Jr. will ride (and perform) with the offi cers on their spe-cial fl oat. Thoth features an incredible assortment of throws, including Fedoras, t-shirts, aviator sunglasses, pol ystone beads, pilot hats, neck pillows, playing cards, ladies scarves, poker chips, Thoth socks, and Thoth Sunday T-shirts. Doubloons in several colors will be thrown, along with rectangular shaped offi cers’ doubloons and pyramid-shaped doubloons. Thoth stages its ball on February 8, 2020, at the Pontchartrain Center.

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Bacchus LII and 30 riding lieutenants lead the club’s 1,600 male riders in the krewe’s lavish 32-fl oat procession entitled BACCHUS’S WILD, WILD WEST.

Floats include subjects such as Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, Sheriffs and Outlaws, and Lewis and Clark. Super fl oats include Bacchaneer, a four-section signature fl oat; Bac-chakong Family, featuring three members of the Kong Family; the 120-foot Bacchatalityfl oat; Bacchasaurus; Bacchagator; Bacchawhoppa; and Baccha-Amore. Among Bacchus’s many logo items are 10-gallon foam cowboy hats, fl ip fl ops, lighted bolo ties, and silicone wine glasses. Doubloon fanciers will be showered with throws in several shapes and colors, including specifi c ones from fl oats such as the Lone Ranger, Ghost Towns, and St. Louis: Gateway to the West. Riding as special guests will be the Little League World Series Champs from River Ridge, Louisiana. The 100-plus-unit parade ends inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center where the Bacchus Rendezvous is staged.

The Egyptian patron of wisdom and the inventor of science, art, and letters, Thoth is traditionally depicted with the body of a man and the head of an ibis. Thoth’s mythological counterparts were the Greek Hermes and the Roman Mercury. The uptown krewe was organized in 1947 and presented its fi rst ball and fi ve-fl oat parade with 50 members the next year. The men of Thoth have become known as the “krewe of the shut-ins” because they design their unique neighborhood parade route to pass in front of 14 institutions that care for persons with disabilities and illnesses. www.thothkrewe.com

The most innovative and imitated krewe founded during the 20th century, Bac-chus, named for the Roman god of wine, was the product of a 1968 meeting of 12 businessmen who had gathered to explore new directions for Carnival clubs in New Orleans. The Bacchus organization built the largest fl oats ever assembled, transformed the tableau ball into a mas-sive supper dance with Las Vegas-style entertainment, and was the fi rst krewe to popularize the use of national celebrities as monarchs—among them Bob Hope, Nicholas Cage, Will Ferrell and Andy Garcia. www.kreweofbacchus.org

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