Cyber-based Marching Club has Throws fit for "Larger-than-Life" King

Building on a positive response to its debut at Mardi Gras 1999, the Krewe of Elvis, which bills itself as the "First Cyber-based Marching Club," has issued a call for Net Heads with a "desire and love for Mardi Gras" to join them for their Y2K revels. Apropos of their namesake, the krewe's theme for the Mardi Gras 2000 is "Larger than Life." The marchers will gather in front of St. Louis Cathedral at around 10:30 a.m. on Fat Tuesday for an hour-long romp through the French Quarter. "Elvis or related costumes are encouraged," according to the krewe's newsletter, though any costume is acceptable. Participants are also encouraged to bring throws.

Photo courtesy of Craig "Jester" Imboden

The krewe is an offshoot of one of the first Mardi Gras Internet sites, http://mglinks.com, operated by Chip Curley of Nashville, Tenn., a.k.a. "Dead Elvis." Though Curley and his wife, Linda, attended their first Mardi Gras in 1990, it wasn't until 1994 that they started costuming. Explaining how he came to adopt his Mardi Gras persona, Curley says, "I was just looking for something with humor and also with a little edge to it, and I thought, 'Well, I'll be Dead Elvis,' because there's always Elvises at Mardi Gras." He sports a black wig, a black cape with silver trim and paints his face ashen white.

Craig Imboden, one of the many Mardi Gras aficionados Curley has met over the Internet, came up with the idea for forming a marching group in the summer of 1998. Curley, an Elvis fan with the "resources" to stir up interest via his site, "checked into it," says Imboden, a.k.a. "Jester," "and the rest is history."

"The whole purpose of having the krewe," adds Curley, "is to get more people in costume on Fat Tuesday."

Last year, the group started out somewhat haphazardly with about 15 marchers. They handed out beads, Krewe of Elvis bumper stickers and wooden doubloons, plus special donut medallions. (Donuts, notes Curley, "are something dear to Elvis's heart.") Imboden made the medallions by spraying foam insulation in small circles. Once the foam had dried, he applied gold paint and emblazoned them with Curley's Web site address.

The donut throws were a big hit with spectators, a number of whom joined in the revels—eventually swelling the krewe's ranks to about 50. "We had a lot better turnout that what we expected," says Imboden, who lives in Conway, Ark.

Imboden also made one large donut medallion as a prize for the participant with the best costume. Dubbed "The Order of the Golden Donut" by Curley, it went to Urs Von Felton, who found out about the Krewe of Elvis via the Internet. Hailing from Basel, Switzerland, he was got up in Swiss Carnival regalia. Out of these revels emerged the Krewe of Switzerland, formed by Von Felton and several other acquaintances who also had a great time marching with the Krewe of Elvis. (The Krewe of Switzerland has a Web page, www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Canal/2407/index.html).

Joining the Elvis marchers at Mardi Gras 2000 will be "Stunning" Steve Reno, who bills himself as "Atlanta's Premiere Elvis Impersonator." He, too, found out about Krewe of Elvis via Curley's site, which attracts an interesting mix of Elvis fans and Mardi Gras fans. Indeed, Curley's Krewe of Elvis bumper stickers have become a sought-after item among collectors of Elvis memorabilia. More often than not, says Curley, "they don't have a clue about Mardi Gras. And of course, at some point, if they get into my page enough, they're going to become converts for Mardi Gras as well."

Meanwhile, like an industrious elf in Santa's workshop, Imboden has been busy turning out 175 special Krewe of Elvis medallions for Mardi Gras 2000. They're made out of plastic resin cast from a hand-carved clay mold, feature a three-dimensional representation of Elvis and are hand-painted.

"Next year," vows Imboden, "I'll spend more time on my actual mold, and they'll look professional." Nevertheless, the ones for Mardi Gras 2000 are sure to be a hot item (they'll be given away to Krewe of Elvis marchers on a first come, first serve basis). There are also wooden Krewe of Elvis doubloons and "Get out of Jail Free" cards with a space for the holder to fill in his or her name. The cards state that, as "a personal friend of Elvis," the holder "should be accorded all benefits and extended all courtesies as dictated by the King." On the reverse side is a checklist of offenses—e.g., "Fed a 'huge ass beer' to police horse," "Decorated statue of Andy Jackson with beads" and "Stole Luck Dog cart and started your own parade." Holders are advised to "mark the appropriate boxes and promise never to do these again!"

Beginning at 2 p.m. on Lundi Gras (Fat Monday), the Krewe of Elvis will host the 2nd annual "International Internet Gathering." The event, with cash bar and live music, will take place at Patout's (pronounced pa-toos), a bar/restaurant at 501 Bourbon St. There will be a banner hanging from the balcony announcing the get-together; just tell the guard at the door you're there for "the meeting."