Mark your calendar for these pre-parade social events
Membership is up, and people are buzzing with new ideas and projects, from our new Suffragists section to our new St. Michael’s Angel Army Choir. Be part of the fun!
- Wednesday, January 1, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. New Year’s Work Party, full member throws pick-up and foot soldier costume pickup at St. Andrews Parish Hall
- IF YOU TOOK HOME A TEA LIGHT KIT TO ASSEMBLE, BE SURE TO BRING YOUR ASSEMBLED TEA LIGHTS BACK AT 11 A.M. SHARP
- Saturday, January 4, 7-9:30 p.m. Pre-Parade Dinner Party at Livaudais Hall (Get your tickets!)
- Sunday, January 5, 9 a.m.-noon Mass at Saint Louis Cathedral, second line and jazz brunch at Market Cafe (Get your tickets!)
- PARADE NEW ROUTE AND START TIME!!!!!
- Member Resources: throws store, throws guide and costume guide
Details of all events below
New Year’s Work Party and Full Member Throws Pick-Up
Most members have a reason to at least stop by this workshop, which makes it a bustling party. Full members will be picking up throws, foot soldiers will be picking up costumes, and everyone will be working on making our signature tea light throws. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Parish Hall of Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church at the corner of Carrollton and Zimple (1031 S. Carrollton, map). Enter from the side door on Zimple. Show off your own projects or bring a snack or wine to share if you like. Delicious holiday leftovers welcome. Dress: casual.
- Around 1 p.m., the new St. Michael’s Angel Army Choir performance group will give a sneak preview of their music.
Full Member Throws Clarifications
Full members are encouraged to engage in audience interaction. Throws are one way to do this, but if you have a bit of theater or a prop instead of throws, that’s great too!
- Full members are welcome and encouraged to design their own unique handmade throws. They should be relevant to Joan of Arc or your parade section. No Mardi Gras beads or other typical Mardi Gras throws. Throws Guide
- For full members we offer a selection of custom krewe merchandise throws and throws handmade or hand embellished by krewe volunteers for sale. Your purchase of these signature throws raises funds for the krewe. Pre-order throws now to pick up at New Year’s (don’t wait, because many items are almost sold out already).
- Full members receive one included throws package PER MEMBERSHIP (companion members and children do not receive a package). This kit consists of 20 prayer cards, 20 tealight candles, a box of 50 Flaming Heretic matches, a set of 5 of this year’s wood doubloon, and a set of one of each of this year’s playing cards. Get to St. Andrew’s New Year’s Work Party by 2 p.m. to pick up your “free” package. If you can’t pick up in person on this date, please have a friend pick-up yours. As a last resort, annoy Captain Amanda in advance to make special arrangements to pick up yours.
- After 2 p.m. on New Year’s any member packs not yet picked up will be given away to other people, so hang out until the end of the workshop if you’re hoping to score some extra throws. The reason we do this is that the tealights become bulky and fragile once assembled. We already have several carloads of stuff that have to be brought to and from New Year’s and to and from the banquet, even without factoring in 20-30 forgotten member bags. Please keep in mind that we are an all-volunteer operation.
- Note: If you pre-ordered throws to pick up at the banquet, your order will also be available for pick-up on New Year’s if you’d like to pick it up early!
Saturday, January 4: Pre-Parade Medieval Banquet at Livaudais Hall
We’ll have king cake, a hot buffet supper, wine at your table, and medieval music, 7-9:30 p.m. Caterer Jacques-Imo’s makes us a medieval roast pig and a full medieval menu of roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and fig compote. We’ll be welcoming the French “Jeanne d’Arc” and the rest of the delegation from our sister city Orléans, France. Luke Brechtelsbauer and friends will entertain us with medieval music, and we’ll have a drum and chant performance of Joan’s trial. Show off your beautiful medieval costume and share a sneak preview of your throws with friends! All paraders are invited — full members, honoraries and their entourage, group members, performers, and foot soldier volunteers. Paraders may also purchase non-member tickets for your guests. Tickets were $65 for members, $15 extra for non-members. BUT after December 25th, ticket prices increased to $75, and after January 1, ticket prices will increase to $85, so buy your ticket now! Dress: Medieval costumes are strongly encouraged. Many krewe members (including foot soldier volunteers) wear their parade costumes. There is ample street parking near the hall.
* – Yes, the banquet ticket price has increased, but please note that even with this increase and a sell-out crowd, ticket sales do not quite cover the cost of the event. We DO expect a sell-out though, so get your ticket now.
Photo by Gary H. Jones
Sunday, January 5th: Mass, Second Line and Jazz Brunch
Join your fellow krewe members for 9 a.m. worship at Saint Louis Cathedral the Sunday before the parade. In the spirit of Joan, worship is the way to begin any important endeavor! After mass, the Soul Heirs Band will lead us in a jam and second line 4 blocks from the Cathedral to the Joan of Arc statue, where we’ll do a jazz brunch at Market Cafe. You can attend the mass, second line, brunch or all three, but you’ll need an advance ticket for the brunch. Dress: second line spirit, krewe colors blue and gold, krewe gear, medieval-inspired (not costumes). NOTE: When the brunch sells out, you can still do the mass and second-line and you may even be able to join us at Market Cafe for lunch on your own.
Monday, January 6 PARADE!!!!!
NOTE NEW LINE-UP LOCATION, REVISED ROUTE AND LATER START TIME FOR 2025
Report to French Market vendor parking lot around 90 French Market Place to line up (map), costumed, ready to go, and carrying only what you plan to carry in the parade. Detailed Line-Up and Parade Instructions for Parade Participants Foot soldiers and leaders will arrive by 5:45 p.m. to unload the props; full members should be there no later than 6:30 p.m. to roll the parade at 8 p.m. sharp. Arrive in costume. Come early so you have time to see everything and get your photo taken. Best parking is in Premium Parking Lot P407, the long lot running along the river behind the French Market.
8 p.m. Parade!!!!
We’ll kick off Carnival season at 8 p.m. sharp, make our stops to salute the Joan of Arc statue, the sword blessing ceremony at the Cathedral, toasts in French and English to our court, and the king cake ceremony at Oscar Dunn Park (sidewalk amphitheater by Cafe Du Monde). (Route and stop details) The new route is about the same length and does the same stops in a different order. Remember that we are a family-friendly parade and also a saint procession with a ceremony at the Cathedral. Please hold off on the adult beverages until after the parade. We’ll be done around 9:45 p.m.; surely you can wait that long!
Remember, the Members Only page (password: Joan1412 ) is where you can order throws, view and order prints of last year’s photos from our amazing volunteer photographers, and find the costume guide, throws guide, downloadable logos, relevant coats of arms, and characters wanted. And our online Joan library is full of not only books but also music, movies and TV shows.
