A light drizzle fell with the sun on a downtown Saturday evening as the Krewe of Freret made its way to Mardi Gras World. With an original run of several decades through the 1990s, Freret relaunched in 2011 with a group of Loyola graduates taking up the mantle of a parade sharing the name of the historic street that any student of Tulane and Loyola knows all-too-well. With the rolling of one of its biggest editions ever this past weekend, Freret came to a close at "Shorty Gras," the Mardi Gras music event hosted by Trombone Shorty and featuring several of the biggest names in New Orleans music.
Music is always one of the biggest components of the Krewe of Freret's theming, and this year's theme was fittingly "Let the Band Play On." It's hard to think of a better location for such a mantra than the Shorty Gras festival, where the Freret afterparty featured performances from the Grammy-nominated Cha Wa Band and the Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band. Cha Wa brought an incredibly strong Mardi Gras element to the afterparty, featuring Mardi Gras Indians and elaborate costumes in the style of the picture-based, "Uptown" Mardi Gras Indian tradition. Rebirth played some major crowd-pleasers, specializing in their blend of New Orleans brass band with a modern funk feel in the same vein as the festival namesake (and guest), Trombone Shorty.
While celebrating its growth as a krewe along with its roots on Freret street, the rolling of the krewe coincided with a sense of 'roll wave'; some of the biggest stars of this year's edition were members of the Tulane football team coming in off the high of their big win against USC in the Rose Bowl. Bringing the energy of the win to the party at Shorty Gras, the energy was best encapsulated by one team member who proudly held a sign reading: "USC, What Happened?" Talking about their experience at the parade, one member of the Green Wave noted that the parade route had a really strong presence of fans in Tulane gear, and that he appreciates the local enthusiasm and the celebration after the close, hard-won victory.
One of the most major additions to Freret's recent rides has been its hitching with the Krewe of Themis, a recent krewe that has joined Freret as a "dual-krewe" to circumvent the tentative cap on new krewes ordered by City Hall. Focused on the Greek Goddess of justice and sporting parasols as its signature throw, Themis is intended to be a modern krewe that fits well with Freret's young-professional vibe.
Catching up near the end of the parade, Freret 2023 queen Jessica Lozano was thrilled at the year's strong turnout despite the looming paper tiger of a Saturday rainfall. According to Lozano, the weather held out well enough for a really successful turnout, and any doubts over the drizzling must have only served to reveal the most die-hard Mardi Gras revelers. The entire court of the parade was very proud of all of the premium throws, including environmentally-minded wooden doubloons, premium pins, and Freret's signature throw of custom-made fanny-packs (because fanny-packs are useful!) Pleased with the turnout, Freret's growing numbers match the growing stats of the Green Wave that many of its members are so connected to. To the city's great benefit, neither of them seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
