Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide

Coach of the year Sean Payton to reign as Orpheus Monarch
Posted: January 23, 2007

Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints and this year’s NFL Coach of the Year, will reign as a Monarch for the Krewe of Orpheus when its 30-float procession rolls Lundi Gras 2007.

“This year Orpheus wanted to recognize members of our community who have done so much to help bring New Orleans back,” said Sonny Borey, captain of the super Krewe. “Sean joins Harry Connick, Jr. and Patricia Clarkson, New Orleanian who have done so much in so many different areas to assist our region.

“Coach Payton said that he wants to use this opportunity of seeing more than 1 million fans on the streets for the parade as a means of saying ‘Thank you.’ We want to use this opportunity to say ‘Thank you' to him,” Borey continued.

Payton, who will ride his own float in the parade, led the New Orleans Saints to heights never achieved by the 40-year-olf franchise and in doing so unified the city of New Orleans with a new spirit.

“Sean Payton gave New Orleans a renewed spirit and energy through his and his team’s accomplishments not only on the football field but in this community,” said Borey. “He unified his players and focused them on how their efforts would help revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. In doing so he breathed new life into our populations.”

The Krewe of Orpheus was founded in 1993 and immediately became one of the most anticipated super Krewes to parade during the Mardi Gras season. This year’s parade will once again wind its way along the traditional uptown route with its 30 spectacular floats.

The parade will begin at 5:45 p.m. on Lundi Gras, Monday, February 19, 2007 and will proceed to its final destination, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, where it will be greeted by thousands of revelers at the annual Orpheuscapade, the Krewe’s open-to-the-public grand ball, featuring non-stop entertainment.

New Orleans Saints Impact Mardi Gras
Posted: January 11, 2007

This Saturday's Saints NFC playoff game at the Louisiana Superdome has caused the Krewe of Okeanos to move its ball up 24 hours to avoid competition with the big event. The club's 58th annual ball will still be held at the Hotel InterContinental, but will take place on Friday instead of Saturday. Meanwhile, the Krewe of Endymion has decided to stick with its original Saturday night date at the New Orleans Hilton. Some 3,000 people will gather for the Coronation Ball where Endymion XLI will be selected by random draw. The club plans to mount several large screen television screens around the ball room so that krewe members and their guests can enjoy the game and the ball.

Twelfth Night Review
Posted: January 07, 2007

January 6 is always an exciting day for those of us who start our pre-Carnival countdown on Ash Wednesday of the prior year. My day started with a 6:30 AM appearance on the Channel 6 morning news where I outlined that day's events. At 10 AM I joined the crowd at Gallier Hall where Mayor C. Ray Nagin welcomed the media and invited guests. Officials from Zulu and Rex presented him with their annual posters and tourism officials presented a positive forecast for Mardi Gras 2007. A highlight of the morning was a performance by a contingent of the University of Maryland Terrapin marching band. More than 200 members are in town building homes with Habitat for Humanity. The group received thanks from the Mayor and a standing ovation from the crowd.

Never one to miss an opportunity, Blaine Kern, who was in attendance, extended an invitation to the band to march in Alla’s 75th anniversary mini-parade at 3 PM Saturday afternoon. Not only did the visitors accept, but they also were Kern’s guests at his Twelfth Night party at Mardi Gras World where they were fed and entertained.

I caught the Alla parade at the beginning by the Gretna Court House at 2:45 PM. A nice sized crowd greeted captain Blaine Kern, King Paul Leman and future captain John Beninate II as they boarded the five signature floats. Many encouraged Kern to make this an annual affair.

It was my pleasure to take part in interviews sponsored by the New Orleans Marketing Commission that will be sent to 800 television stations today in an effort to promote tourism at Mardi Gras 2007. Blaine and Ernest Collins, the Mayor’s Arts and Entertainment Director, also participated.

My next stop found me meeting a WDSU news crew at the start of Zeus’ 50th anniversary parade. This event was five years in the making. Crowds along Severn, Bonnabel and Metairie Road were larger than expected for the 11-float procession and they seemed to appreciate this retro-parade.

I traveled from Zeus’ starting point at Rummel High School to the start of the PPP parade near NOMA in 13 minutes, breaking no speeding laws, but luckily catching every signal light on green. I arrived at 6:56 PM. The crowd that gathered for the streetcar send-off seemed larger than ones at the Phunny Phorty Phellows’ traditional starting point at the Willow Street car barn. In spite of competition from several other activities on January 6, the PPP still present the signature public event of the day.

My final stop was at Mardi Gras World where Blaine Kern presented his annual free party for members of the tourism industry. It was a nice way to end a special day.

Everywhere I traveled on Twelfth Night I sensed a much more hopeful attitude than last year on this day. Crowds were larger and more festive. The anticipation for Mardi Gras is greater, as will be the celebration since most parades return to full-strength.

Let the games begin.

From the Krewe of Orpheus
Posted: January 04, 2007

Acclaimed Award-Winning Actress Patricia Clarkson To Reign As Krewe of Orpheus Monarch

Patricia Clarkson, the two-time Emmy winner, Academy Award nominee, and acclaimed actress will reign as a Krewe of Orpheus Monarch for Mardi Gras 2007.

“Patricia Clarkson is a native New Orleanian who has won high accolades for her work in motion pictures, television, and on the stage. Her efforts to keep New Orleans an important location for the motion picture industry are unmatched. As our city rebuilds and rediscovers itself, it could not be more fitting that Patricia Clarkson be honored by the Krewe of Orpheus and our city,” Sonny Borey, Captain of the Krewe, said in making the announcement.

Patricia Clarkson, born and raised in New Orleans, was acting in school plays in her early teens. After studying speech at Louisiana State University for two years, she transferred to Fordham University in New York, where she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in theatre arts. She earned her M.F.A. at the prestigious Yale School of Drama, where she appeared in Electra, Pacific Overtures, Pericles, La Ronde, The Lower Depths, and The Misanthrope at the Yale Theatre.

She made her professional acting debut on the New York stage, where she has appeared in Eastern Standard both on and off Broadway; Nicky Silver's Raised in Captivity and The Maiden's Prayer, for which she received Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations; and the Manhattan Theatre Club's presentations of Wolfman, Oliver, Oliver and Richard Greenberg's acclaimed Three Days of Rain.

Her regional credits include stagings at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the South Coast Repertory and the Yale Repertory. She also co-starred in John Guare's Tony-winning House of Blue Leaves at Lincoln Center, and had to leave
her role of the deaf movie star in that play to make her movie debut as Eliot Ness' wife in Brian DePalma's highly-praised 1987 gangster epic, The Untouchables.

While maintaining a busy career on the stage, she continued with movie roles in such projects as Simply Irresistible, Pharaoh's Army, Jumanji, Rocket Gibraltar, Everybody's All-American, The Dead Pool and Tune in Tomorrow.

The awards began pouring in during 2002, when Clarkson won an Emmy for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for the TV series Six Feet Under, a "Best Female Performance" award from the Deauville Film Festival for her role in The Safety of Objects (2001) and a New York Film Critics Circle "Best Supporting Actress" award for her supporting role in the feature film Far From Heaven (2002). The awards kept piling up the following year when she won a National Society of Film Critics Award for her role in Far From Heaven (2002) and a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her role in The Station agent (2003). In 2004, she received her highest actor honor to date -- an Academy Award nomination for her role as a dying mother in Pieces of April.

The Krewe of Orpheus was founded in 1993 and immediately became one of the most anticipated super Krewes to parade during the Mardi Gras season. This year’s parade will once again wind its way along the traditional uptown route with its 30 spectacular floats. The parade will begin at 5:45 p.m. on Lundi Gras, Monday, February 19, 2007 and will proceed to its final destination, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, where it will be greeted by thousands of revelers at the annual Orpheuscapade, the Krewe’s open-to-the-public grand ball, featuring non-stop entertainment.

For Further information visit www.kreweoforpheus.com
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