Tonight, the Krewe du Vieux kicks off the 2007 Carnivale season in New Orleans with its “Habitat for Insanity” parade. The Krewe du Vieux is perhaps simultaneously the most individualistic and the most traditional of all New Orleans parading krewes.
It is one of the earliest parades of the New Orleans Carnival calendar, and is noted for wild satirical and adult themes, as well as for showcasing a large number of New Orleans’ best marching bands. The floats are hand made and decorated by members of the respective sub-krewes, often with themes satirizing local politics and customs, sometimes of a bawdy nature — in such aspects arguably closer to early 19th century Carnival traditions than any other Krewe currently parading.
Tonight’s parade comes on the heels of Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana’s decision to allow residents of the Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish that were flooded during Hurricane Katrina to sue the Army Corps of Engineers over their claims that a government-built navigation channel was largely to blame.
Successful lawsuits against the corps could result in billions of dollars in damage payments.
Let the Good Times Roll!
