Image copyright © 2000, Ray Broussard

Sandra Bullock riding in
the Krewe of Orpheus parade

The tradition of nationally recognized celebrities appearing in Mardi Gras parades began with Louis Armstrong, who reigned as King Zulu in 1949, and was later institutionalized by the Krewe of Bacchus. But in recent years, Bacchus and other high-profile organizations have sometimes struggled to lure big names. Likely reason: Influential talent managers don't see any monetary upside in Mardi Gras, given that the krewes seek to enlist celebrity guests, not with a paycheck, but rather the promise of an all-expenses-paid good time.

Heeding the call to revelry, a crowd estimated at 2 million strong—the largest on record—took to the streets for the last Mardi Gras of the millennium. As the Times-Picayune reported on Ash Wednesday, "A few drops of rain surprised some St. Charles Ave. viewers in mid-morning, but the clouds soon disappeared and sunshine and temperatures in the 70s kept the crowds going—and growing." Also helping to boost the turnout: a four-day weekend, thanks to President's Day on Monday.

Locals turned out in droves along such key thoroughfares as Jackson Ave., St. Charles Ave. and Claiborne Ave. But because Mardi Gras was early this year—and, therefore, didn't coincide with Spring Break—there were noticeably fewer college-age party people jamming the French Quarter. Consequently, you could actually walk down Bourbon St. without having to squeeze your way through the inebriated throng. But unfortunately for French Quarter merchants, the diminished tourist presence meant that business was off compared to the 1998 festivities.

The city measures the success of Mardi Gras by collecting data on such things as hotel occupancy, alcohol consumption and the amount of trash collected (a record 1,140 tons over the 12 days of the official parade season, up 28% from 1998's haul). At the arrival ceremony for the king and queen of Zulu, along the riverfront on Lundi Gras (Fat Monday), Mayor Marc Morial, citing "official measurements," declared that "this is the biggest and best Mardi Gras in New Orleans ever" (he says something to this effect every year).

The highlight of the Lundi Gras festivities—which included a feast of free live music, topped off by a set at Spanish Plaza by The Iguanas—was the first-ever greeting of Zulu by Rex, king of Carnival. Following Rex's arrival by Coast Guard cutter and a fireworks display, emcee Errol Laborde introduced Zulu—prompting the crowd to burst into a chant: "Zu-lu,Zu-lu,Zu-lu." Rex—Louis Freemen—greeted and thanked Zulu—Myron Moorehead—and then offered a special tribute to Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. The Crescent City's most famous native son, jazzman Armstrong, who died in 1971, had reigned as King Zulu half a century ago.

"This is a great moment for Mardi Gras, a great moment for the city of New Orleans," Moorehead proclaimed.

Mayor Morial, for his part, called the occasion a "symbolic coming together"—suggesting a new hopefulness for racial harmony in a city that, in the early 1990s, was riven as the result of a move by pols to require more gender and racial diversity among the krewes that parade on public streets during Carnival. (Rex is a predominately white organization whose members tend to be pillars of society, while the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club is a predominately black group that was formed at the beginning of the century as a spoof of all-white krewes, particularly Rex.)

Adding to the historical aura was the fact that, as both Laborde and the captain of the Rex organization duly noted, 1999 marked the 300th anniversary of the christening of Pointe du Mardi Gras, a plot of ground some 60 miles south of New Orleans (a French-Canadian expedition landed there on Mardi Gras, March 3, 1699).

Addressing his royal subjects at Spanish Plaza, Rex predicted that "Tomorrow is going to be a fabulous day for us all!"

He wasn't kidding: It was as if spring had come early to city of Mardi Gras merriment, summoning forth a veritable cornucopia of sights and sounds to tickle the senses. Among those who made an impression,  were Zorro, a 6-month-old, pot-bellied Vietnamese pig who, sporting a flower lei, rode a tropically themed chariot in the Mondo Kayo Social & Marching Club procession; and the Krewe of Falwell Teletubbies, who won best group costume at the 35th annual Bourbon Street Awards.

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Image copyright © 2000, Ray Broussard

Mardi Gras Pirates

In a tip of the hat to the fabled Golden Triangle trade route, these swashbucklers christened their Mardi Gras vessel The Golden Behind. It was bedecked with skulls and a stuffed toucan, housed a keg of beer and, much to the delight of landlubber revelers, even had a cannon that shot pink bunny rabbits. Docked at Jackson Square on Fat Tuesday, its anchor hung from the Pirate's Alley street sign.

Image copyright © 2000, Ray Broussard

Capt. Eddie's S.S. Endymion

This new, highly touted Endymion signature float--named in honor of the krewe's captain, Ed Muniz--is animated by more than one million feet of computerized, end-point fiber-optic light. Other impressive features include a smoke-puffing calliope, electronically controlled air brakes and a high-powered sound system. Because of its unprecedented size--linked together in five sections and measuring 240 feet in length, it's 100 feet longer than the Orpheus Leviathan--the krewe and police scrutinized the parade route in advance to make sure that navigating turns and obstacles wouldn't pose a problem. But when the superfloat arrived at Lee Circle in the parade, it encountered an unauthorized grandstand. As a result, the chassis had to be decoupled between units three and four. The detached sections were then pulled up separately, and reconnected. The episode caused a delay of approximately 20 minutes.

Image copyright © 2000, Ray Cole

Victorious Teletubbies

A week before Fat Tuesday, Jerry Falwell, founder of the now-defunct Moral Majority, warned in his newspaper that Tinky Winky, of the cult children's TV show The Teletubbies, was, in effect, a gay role model. In a take-off on the resulting controversy, a group calling themselves Krewe of Falwell came out for Mardi Gras in Tinky Winky getups--and walked away with first prize in the group costume category at the 35th annual Bourbon Street Awards. Playing off the fact that the characters in the show have televisions in their stomachs, the krewe's costumes featured the mug of the right-wing evangelist.