PARADE ROYALTY

All women are given a concealed rose and all the men are given a concealed Mardi Gras doubloon. Once an announcement is made everyone unwraps their item to determine who will be crowned King, Queen, Dukes, and Maids for the parade. The ‘Royal Court’ will lead the parade in the ‘First Line’ with the parade banner. Crowning ‘Royalty’ for parades is a common tradition in New Orleans and a high honor among Mardi Gras Krewes and the neighborhood Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs.

The method of selecting Mardi Gras ‘Krewe Royalty’ varies from krewe to krewe. Some use an inner circle of members to choose the King while others hold random drawings to elect their King or Queen. Elaborate ceremonies called “coronation balls” celebrate the year’s newly crowned royalty. The random drawing to crown the King and Queen of Aunt Patty’s epic Mardi Gras parties was the highlight of her event so we choose to carry on her tradition at the Jazz Crawl.