Photo by Kim Welsh
Mark your calendar: 2025-2026 Pre-Parade Events with Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc
35 action-packed days until the parade! Crafting, costume sewing, puppet and prop construction and music and flag rehearsals are all in full swing! Be part of the fun for 2026!
- Monday, December 15, 7-9 p.m. Coronation party/kick-off at the Degas House. Krewe-only gathering to announce our royalty and young Maid of Honor
- Thursday, January 1, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. New Year’s Work Party, last throw pick-up and foot soldier costume pickup at St. Andrew’s Parish Hall
- Sunday, January 4, 9 a.m.-noon Mass at Saint Louis Cathedral, second line and jazz brunch at Market Cafe (Get your tickets!)
- Monday, January 5, 7-9:30 p.m. Pre-Parade Dinner Party at Livaudais Hall (Get your tickets!)
- Tuesday, January 6 PARADE!!!!!
- Member Resources: throws store, throws guide and costume guide
Details of All Events Below
Monday, Dec. 15th Coronation and Kick-Off Party at the Degas House
Kick off the season with this very special krewe-only “mandatory” party announcing our 2026 king, queen and Maid of Honor as well as other updates. Full members, group members and foot soldier volunteers are all invited to this coronation and kick-off party 7-9 p.m. This is an important moment of unity for our krewe, and we hope krewe members will do everything in their power to be part of it.
- FREE. The Degas House has donated their courtyard and house! Cash bar and hors d’oeuvres.
- We’ll announce our 2026 Maid of Honor (award to a local teen leader), Queen Yolande (community award to a female business leader), and King Charles VII (award to a community leader who embodies New Orleans’ French connection).
- Signature throw orders will be ready for pick-up (pre-order your throws!) and on-site sale.
- Dress: holiday party/krewe colors of blue and gold, krewe bling (not costumes).
- Sign up to help with set-up, pack-up etc.
- In addition to street parking, there is a parking lot! (entrance at 1411 North Rocheblave Street, map)
- The Degas House, where Impressionist painter Edgar Degas lived and worked, is one of the few official French national landmarks outside of France, and its owner, our first king David Villarubia, was knighted for his work on the award-winning restoration and museum.
Photo by Gary H. Jones
Thursday, January 1: New Year’s Work Party
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.
Volunteers needed: Sign up to help with loading in, packing out, or food.
Photo by Gary H. Jones
Sunday, January 4th: 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). You may want to get a krewe umbrella!
Photo by Gary H. Jones
Monday, January 5: 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. Two bottles of wine are provided per table, and you may also bring your own wine. 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 to purchase tickets — full members, honoraries and their entourage, group members, performers, and foot soldier volunteers. Paraders may also purchase non-member tickets for your guests. Tickets are $75 for members, $15 extra for non-members. BUT after December 25th, ticket prices will increase to $85, and after January 1, ticket prices will increase to $95, so buy your ticket now! Dress: Medieval costumes are strongly encouraged. Many krewe members (including foot soldier volunteers) wear their parade costumes. There is street parking near the hall.
We need volunteers to help with set-up and pack-up for the banquet. Sign up here!
* – 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.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6th, PARADE!!!!!
Photo by Gary H. Jones
Line-up at French Market (same as last year)
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. 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, 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)
Remember that we are a family-friendly parade and also a saint procession with a ceremony at the Cathedral. Marchers are required to 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!
Route changes: We’ve been assured that we WILL be permitted to parade in the Quarter in spite of the ongoing street construction, with some modifications to our route. Modifications have not yet been finalized but the new route due to construction will likely be a little longer than usual, 1.7 miles; so you may wish to plan for extra throws. These changes will not be finalized until closer to the parade date.
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.
Order your throws now!
