It's King Cake season! It's stumble drunkenly down Bourbon Street at 3pm o'clock! You know what that means, it's Carnival time! Though truthfully, you can pass out in public midday in New Orleans any time of year.
And every year the floats that trundle down the street become bigger and more storied, the plastic beads thrown from by the drunken riders more plentiful, the affiliated celebrities more infamous.
In response to the three story floats of Endymion and the like, the little parade of 'tit Rəx was formed.
'tit Rəx is New Orleans first and only MicroKrewe. A group of artists, business people, teachers, workers and bon vivants founded 'tit Rəx in 2009 in a response to the super krewes constantly setting records for floats, throws and extravagance.
'tit Rəx takes an opposite approach focusing instead of on massive floats that take up entire blocks, the 'tit Rəx floats are made out shoeboxes that look like full size floats.
Mardi Gras New Orleans
The resulting parade is a wonderful little spectacle of miniatures. Spectators have to crouch down to see the intricate details and little jokes throughout the spectacle. This year's theme was "Is That All There Is?". It's one of the more family-friendly Mardi Gras parades, especially near the start, with the sun still out and fewer adults abound that have spent the better part of the day drinking in anticipation. It really is very cute.
Some before-the-parade, behind-the-scenes action
The crowd often joins in and makes their own miniatures.
Nola.com has a nice little video of the parade highlights
