21 days from today the Krewe Of Mid-City parade is going to roll. This year's theme is "Apocalypso: Party at the End of the World." A few facts about the Krewe. Based in the Mid City Neighborhood of New Orleans (see info here) this krewe is the 5th oldest continously parading organization of the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. This year's parade will be the 79th. It is a daytime parade and the krewe's signature floats are decorated in colored foil which I'm told on a sunny day are quite a sight to see (go here for pictures). At this point, I may be assigned to the band float (see picture belowfrom last year's parade) which is positioned early in the parade-coming right after the Royal Court- and features a brass band playing on the float for the duration of the parade. No other krewe uses this colored foil decorating technique which is a lost art save for the Mid City's float artist Ricardo Pustanio who learned his craft early in his career under a member of the world famous float-making family the Kerns. Another interesting fact is that this was the first krewe to feature animated floats -which at the time was accomplished by-believe it or not- having boy scout volunteers concealed within the floats pedaling stationary bicycles attached to cables and other mechanisms that moved various devices. All in all it is a krewe with a long, proud and unique parading history and I am honored to be taking part in this year's parade. Hail Mid-City! Pour la joie de vivre!
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