Gallery
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
The first Comus parade was held on Mardi Gras 1857, and this became an annual event. Other organizations sprang up in New Orleans in the 19th century, inspired by the Comus model, and also came to be known as Krewes. Parading on Mardi Gras night, Comus was the final parade of the carnival season for over 100 years. By the mid-1850s, Mardi Gras in New Orleans was a rough and rowdy affair that threatened the very existence of the festival. From the imagination of several men sprang the scheme for a lavish parade. The result, in 1857, was the Mistick Krewe of Comus – the prototype of organized Carnival parades and balls, known to this day. It’s that magical time of year when Carnival season descends on the city. the Mardi Gras ladders get dusted off, you can stock up on your collection of Mardi Gras cups, and king cakes are everywhere you turn. Mardi Gras has been a time honored tradition since the 1730s, slowly evolving into the Mardi Gras we know today. Since we’re in the beginning of Carnival season, we’d thought we’d When first established, Mardi Gras revelries in New Orleans were raucous, sometimes violent, and largely attended by the Catholic Creole community. In 1857, six of the city's leading Protestant businessmen banded together to form the secret society, the Mistick Krewe of Comus, based on a character created by poet John Milton. In other years uninvited persons have tried to beg, buy, or steal invitations to the Comus ball.[2] Even after the ball is over Comus invitations are prized by collectors as they are uncommonly beautiful and rare. On Mardi Gras night Comus provided the final parade of the New Orleans Carnival season for over 100 years. The theme of the Mistick Krewe of Comus' first procession was "The Demon Actors of 'Paradise Lost.'" Every tradition has a beginning, and New Orleans can trace its modern Mardi Gras tradition to Click on the Mardi Gras krewes below for further information about the krewe and to see their usual route for each parade. Please note: Events and activities are subject to change without notice. Stay tuned to the site for further info. The captain of the Mistick Krewe of Comus (center left) the presents Queen Jessie Wing Sennott to the king, standing at rear with his pages, at the krewe’s ball in 1962. Comus traditionally keeps the identities of the king and captain a secret. HNOC, 1987.2.7 Comus was the first and only krewe during the conception of Mardi Gras. The secret society, led by six white, Protestant businessmen, was formed with the intention to transform the once rowdy and violent Mardi Gras festivities into something much more sophisticated. The grand finale of Mardi Gras 2024 came Shrove Tuesday evening with the traditional Meeting of the Courts of the Mistick Krewe of Comus and Rex during the Comus bal masque at the Marriott Hotel. Before Comus, Mardi Gras street processions were mostly impromptu happenings—relatively small, unorganized and sometimes unruly. By forming a social club for the purpose of planning a scripted parade and tableau ball, writes sociologist Kevin Fox Gotham in Authentic New Orleans: Tourism, Culture and Race in the Big Easy, Comus “rationalized The Most Exclusive Mardi Gras Krewes. Krewe of Comus (Founded 1857) – The oldest Mardi Gras krewe, Comus introduced New Orleans to the concept of a themed parade and remains one of the most secretive groups. Unlike many modern krewes, Comus does not allow public membership, and its Twelfth Night Ball is an invitation-only event attended by In 1875, Governor Warmoth signed the "Mardi Gras Act," making Fat Tuesday a legal holiday in Louisiana, which it still is. Like Comus and the Twelfth Night Revelers, most Mardi Gras krewes today developed from private social clubs with restrictive membership policies. The first official Mardi Gras flambeaux debuted with the Mistick Krewe of Comus on Fat Tuesday in 1857. In the beginning, the flambeaux were needed for revelers to see the Carnival parades at night. Originally, the flambeaux carried wooden rudimentary torches, which were staves wrapped with lit pine-tar rags. The New Orleans Mardi Gras Mystick Krewe of Comus provided a perfect stage and drama for its Comus Kings to revel into passage of the 33 rite-cloaked in secrecy, revelry and power. Caleb Cushing was an assassin for Skull and Bones-Illuminati-New World Order WYES host and producer Peggy Scott Laborde, along with Errol Laborde, Carnival historian and author of Mardi Gras: Chronicles of the New Orleans Carnival and Will French, Rex Organization historian, provide commentary throughout the evening. The live program contains interviews with past and present Rex and Comus royalty along with historical
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |