Krewe of Lafcadio
The Krewe of Lafcadio parades in the French Quarter celebrating and satirizing New Orleans culture. Our icon is the journalist and writer Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) who published extensively about New Orleans culture, including the first Creole cookbook about its culinary arts, as well as political cartoons about its corruption. Just months after moving to New Orleans, Lafcadio famously wrote in a letter to a friend back in Ohio:
"Times are not good here. The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under a lava flood of taxes and frauds and maladministrations so that it has become only a study for archaeologists. Its condition is so bad that when I write about it, as I intend to do soon, nobody will believe I am telling the truth. But it is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes than to own the whole state of Ohio."
- Lafcadio Hearn, circa 1877
Theme
A celebration of New Orleans culture, and in particular the culinary arts of New Orleans.
Parade Format
The krewe presents a walking parade that harkens back to the original Mardi Gras parades. A mule-drawn float carries a top local chef as royalty. Floats are followed by costumed marchers and brass bands.
