1st big New Orleans parade since pandemic a go: Krewe of Boo

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Parade-loving New Orleans is about to get its groove back.

After over a year where the coronavirus largely put an end to parades, an assortment of witches, goblins and other masked creatures are set to take to the streets Saturday night in the city's first parade with floats since the pandemic put an end to such frivolity.

The Krewe of Boo is a Halloween-themed parade that stretches from the city's Marigny neighborhood, through the French Quarter and into the Warehouse District. Riders on the floats dress up in Halloween-themed outfits and throw ghoulish and fun trinkets and beads to crowds that pack the streets. The parade usually features marching bands as well as dancing interspersed between the floats.

But the last time such a parade rolled through the city's streets was Mardi Gras 2020, which was largely credited with contributing to the city becoming an early hot spot for the coronavirus. As the extent and seriousness of the pandemic became apparent parades as well as music festivals were canceled.

If the city can successfully pull off the Halloween-themed Krewe of Boo parade safely, without a resulting uptick in COVID-19 infections, it will bolster Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s tentative plans toward bringing back the lavish Mardi Gras processions that fill city streets during the annual pre-Lenten celebration.

“This is a step towards the return of Mardi Gras next spring,” Cantrell said in a Twitter post after announcing in September that the Krewe of Boo parade could proceed. “What happens next depends on what we do right now!!”

On Friday, the mayor said unless there is a “dramatic turn for the worse in our COVID numbers” that Mardi Gras would go forward next year — her strongest comments yet that the massive parades that accompany the yearly...