By Delanie Sundmaker
Photo by Delanie Sundmaker
Seniors Favorite Parades
Day Parades: 34.5% Tucks – 17.2% Zulu – 13.8% Thoth – 13.8% Iris
Night Parades: 37.9% Muses – 17.2% Endymion – 13.8% Cleopatra
Since freshman year, the 2025 seniors have had their fair share of Mardi Gras. Whether they have been watching the parades since they were 13 or just socializing, 29 seniors have put in their opinions.
An overwhelming majority said they prefer night parades over day. Night parades offer a better social scene for high schoolers, which is probably the reason why more seniors chose night. Night parades also make the floats stand out more with fun lights and light-up beads. Another bonus is that night parades don’t go that late. Most of the night parades start at 6 and then a few follow, ending by 10 at the latest. This gives teenagers a way to get out of the house at night with their friends and still get home at a reasonable hour.
Based on the poll, Krewe of Muses, Krewe of Endymion, and Krewe of Cleopatra were the top three night parades for Willow’s seniors. The iconic Muses shoe is an essential part of many people’s Mardi Gras annual collections. Muses is also one of the most popular parades due to its kicking off pf “Deep Gras” on the Thursday before Fat Tuesday.
Although Endymion doesn’t have anything as iconic as the Muses shoe in terms of a permanent throw, it is most famous for its truly massive floats going through Mid-City and downtown. It’s the only major parade to go through Mid-City and is, as such, extremely popular for those who don’t live Uptown.
Cleopatra is another female rolling parade. Although not scoring as high as its fellow female-only parade, Muses, it got nearly 14% of the night parade vote.
For that 17% of seniors who chose day parades, a more family vibe with tons of food, happy music, and an all-ages atmosphere was essential. A good day parade consists of sunny weather, an open spot to watch the parade, and lots of good throws. The sunlight offers a more family vibe with kids running around Napoleon and throwing footballs between parades on St. Charles, and just having a good time with your family. I remember my dad going to set our tent early in the morning with ladders to make day parades extra special. Making jump ropes out of beads was one of my favorites in-between parade activities when I was younger.
Based on the poll, Krewe of Tucks and Krewe of Zulu were the top two day parades chosen by seniors. Both of these parades have special themes or throws, making their parades easy to remember and pick from a crowd. Tucks is an iconic day parade with its theme of toilets. They throw toilet paper, customized plungers, toilet sunglasses, and anything else you can think of relating to toilets! Tucks is such a popular parade because its throws are, well, not always in the best of taste and a great way to add comedy into the Uptown parades.
Zulu is also popular for its throws, which are arguably the most coveted of all of Carnival–the decorated coconut! Zulu also represents the culture and traditions of New Orleans. There’s a large historical side of Zulu many people love. The krewe wasn’t granted permission to parade down Canal Street until 1969, as Canal Street was reserved for white parades prior to that year. Another historical fact about Zulu is that New Orleans’ most famous son, Louis Armstrong, was King of Zulu in 1949. Armstrong grew up near the Zulu den and always dreamed of being a member but never thought one day he’d become its king. Satchmo wearing his Zulu crown was featured nationally on the cover of Time Magazine.
