Featuring the "Barship Enterprise"
February 22, 2014 6:05 PM   Subscribe

Meet New Orleans' only official Sci-Fi and Fantasy themed parade krewe: Chewbacchus.

Including the Kaiju Flambeau Corps. "The 2014 parade includes 100 "Rolling Elliots" on bicycles, dressed in red hoodies with E.T.s in their bike baskets."
posted by ColdChef (36 comments total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
(They're rolling right now. Follow the parade here.)
posted by ColdChef at 6:06 PM on February 22, 2014


COMPUTER, SET COORDINATES FOR ....EARTH.
posted by The Whelk at 6:11 PM on February 22, 2014


“The Barship is going to be cool; it’ll light and glow and can pour shots on the go, plus Redshirts [the krewe’s volunteer parade security escorts] will push it,”
posted by ColdChef at 6:12 PM on February 22, 2014


I hope the barship enterprise goes through like a ton of dry ice.
posted by The Whelk at 6:13 PM on February 22, 2014 [3 favorites]


I love this city. We may get wiped out every once in awhile but dammit, we can throw a party.
posted by localroger at 6:25 PM on February 22, 2014 [6 favorites]


This makes me so very very happy.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:33 PM on February 22, 2014


I haven't been to Mardi Gras in over a decade.

This seals it. I have GOT to get down there next year.
posted by Sara C. at 7:21 PM on February 22, 2014


I now want all the SF/F fandom specific floats. ALL OF THEM.
posted by The Whelk at 7:30 PM on February 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


This is the second greatest thing in the galaxy. (The greatest being, of course, Grand Moff Tarkin, but that's for another time.)

I'm very disappointed my bro from the coast wasn't all over this already and dragged me down there specifically for this.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:54 PM on February 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


ahem "Veteran of Endor's moon" Sigh.
posted by sourwookie at 8:10 PM on February 22, 2014 [2 favorites]


Man, I wish this existed the last time I was at Mardi Gras. It was still fun, but the prospect of drinking for like 16+ hours on end kind of makes me queasy now, so I'll probably never go again.
posted by axiom at 9:11 PM on February 22, 2014


It is a sad sad state of affairs where my enthusiasm has dwindled to the point that I only attend two parades a year (and one of those I march in). I've always meant to see Chewbacchus and never gotten around to it. Okay, fine, it's only been rolling for ... four years now? But still.

One day! Because in theory I would totally love it but in practice ... ugh, so many parades, so little time to finish my costume.
posted by komara at 9:33 PM on February 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


Also I take issue with this quote:
"According to Powers, to be legally recognized as a krewe in town, your name has to reflect a mythical deity (hence, larger krewes named for Orpheus and Bacchus)."
I think Krewe d'Etat, Krewe of Cleopatra, Krewe of King Arthur, Knights of Chaos, Krewe of Carrollton, and a half-dozen others would argue against it as well, and those aren't just little krewes, those are major St. Charles Ave. parades.
posted by komara at 9:44 PM on February 22, 2014 [3 favorites]


Hey, as long as I'm riding this derail, check out this piece of the municipal code of New Orleans, Sec. 34-17 (a):
"No member of any carnival organization shall ride as a masker in public view in a float or minifloat parade unless he is constantly costumed and masked so as to disguise his facial characteristics. This provision shall not apply, however, to the king, queen, captain, maids, dukes, pages, attendants, or special guest celebrities of the organization in question."
That's right, if you're on a float in a parade it is literally illegal for you not to be in proper (masked) costume.
posted by komara at 9:53 PM on February 22, 2014 [4 favorites]


Oh, that explains why so many of the riders wear those weird translucent masks that aren't really masks but somehow achieve an even creepier effect.
posted by Sara C. at 10:24 PM on February 22, 2014


Before, you think "Parade, whatever". I have an eleventh degree black belt in jaded.

It's a great time.

PROTIP, buy a folding chair and use it to stand on to see and sit when you need.
pic
nother pic
and one more
posted by vapidave at 10:27 PM on February 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


Was working tonight. So jealous. But hey, y'all come out for Nyx on Wednesday. You won't be disappointed.
posted by Night_owl at 12:04 AM on February 23, 2014


May the sauce be with you.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:44 AM on February 23, 2014


"Show me some wookie twerking" from the parade report that includes the Chewbacchus celebration.
posted by Anitanola at 1:06 AM on February 23, 2014


Here are a few more pictures.

It seemed that fewer spectators were in costume this year, last year it seemed like half the attendees could have been marching as well. Maybe it's just gotten more popular and so there are more tourists.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:30 AM on February 23, 2014


This is GEEKTASTIC. Fuck yeah, people. Fuck yeah.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:42 AM on February 23, 2014


We were in the parade last night! This was our third year with them and it was the best one so far. All of the grow ups are sore and whiny this morning and all of the kids woke up early to watch Wrath of Khan. (My skinny 10 year old nephew was Ricardo Montalban Khan with a painted on muscle fake fun foam chest. The other kids were old style Klingons with glued on felt goatees, Kirk covered in tribbles and Spock.)
posted by artychoke at 8:08 AM on February 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


So my 50th Birthday is going to be THE same day as Mardi Gras, and I'm already planning a weeklong trip to which I will invite friends. Considering my friend base, I'm thinking this is a parade we MUST SEE.


PS to ColdChef and Radioamy - uh, my birthday was actually on Ash Wednesday that time. So I was kind of cheating.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:17 AM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


I am sore in so many places but the parade and the party last night were a blast.

Seriously, I am a wreck today and I didn't even really drink.
posted by djeo at 10:42 AM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


I didn't get a lot of pictures but I did get some from while we were waiting in lineup. Here is my flickr set and here is the Chewbacchus flickr group (includes pictures going back to the first parade).
posted by djeo at 10:49 AM on February 23, 2014


'Tit Rəx ('petit' Rex, the dadaist miniature shoebox float parade) followed by chewbacchus is my favorite night of the season, although Muses and St. Ann's are pretty great too.

It's funny to think that there were other mefites present as the reese's pieces, yoda masks and handmade Hoth snow globes are being handed out.
posted by umbú at 11:17 AM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Were you able to see any of 'tit rex's floats? I was on Royal in front of Schiro's and saw maybe three in between the crowds. It was nuts.
posted by djeo at 11:21 AM on February 23, 2014


It's funny to think that there were other mefites present
Also funny to realize you know one of the mefites there. Hi djeo! Next year you should come dance with us! Perhaps our mutual friend will manage to acquire even tinier man-shorts.
posted by artychoke at 4:37 PM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Man, I'm missing home right now.
posted by brundlefly at 6:57 PM on February 23, 2014


Yes, djeo, back in the bywater, there were streets without big crowds. Some of the floats were brilliant.
posted by umbú at 9:25 PM on February 23, 2014


[further derail, as long as I have so many of you locals in one place: if you plan on watching the three St. Charles parades this Friday then shoot me a MeMail and we'll see if I can't hand you something special that night.]
posted by komara at 7:21 AM on February 24, 2014 [1 favorite]


Don't forget to come see me tonight! Nyx rolls at 7! I'm on float #1 (not the first float) neutral ground side, near the back on the bottom. Shout my name and I'll hit you with some sweet loot!
posted by Night_owl at 11:48 AM on February 26, 2014


Neutral ground side is the only side.
posted by komara at 1:52 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Final update: if you'll be down at Jackson Square around 8AM tomorrow, look for the skeletons on the downriver side of the cathedral. Come say hi.
posted by komara at 7:56 PM on March 3, 2014


Here's what you missed (of us) if you didn't make it downtown and from what I could tell in the AM pretty much no one did.
posted by komara at 7:24 PM on March 5, 2014


I thought of going into town but when I woke up and saw what the weather was like, it became a very brief thought.
posted by localroger at 7:42 PM on March 5, 2014


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