Joan of Arc Parade 2026
This new year, the the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc will feature various artistic and route changes for its 2026 parade.
This classic krewe, which assures in the Mardi Gras season on Twelfth Night, will celebrate its 18th anniversary this year and Joan of Arc's 614th birthday. The community is invited to come together on January 6 in the French Quarter to celebrate both of these milestones with Carnival flair.
The Changes
The expected changes include increased participants, a new route, and a new Joan of Arc puppet representation. The route alteration is a result of increased construction in the French Quarter, leading the parade to be slightly shorter than it has been in recent years.
The parade starts at Bienville Street and Front Street in the Upper Quarter, concluding at French Market Place and the Barracks located by the New Orleans Jazz Museum. During the parade, the blessing of Joan's Sword will take place at St. Mary's Chapel on Chartres Street, as opposed to its passed ceremony at St. Louis Cathedral.
Also actively during the parade, the Historic New Orleans Collection's Chef Paul Prudhomme Building will host the toast to royalty on their 416 Chartres balcony. The new royal court will be recognized there, consisting of a new king, queen, and maid of honor, chosen for their ties to French heritage and community leadership.
The 2026 Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc Court features Greg Lambousy as King, Sandy Rosenthal as Queen, and Rory Davis as the Maid of Honor. Lambousy is known for his role as the executive director of the New Orleans Jazz Museum, while Rosenthal is known as the founder of levees.org. Davis is a senior at Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orleans, where she learns from both French and American perspectives.
Lambousy and Rosenthal will ride along the parade route in a pedicab led by drivers in papier-mâché horse heads. Davis will ride on a white horse and handout 32 hand-decorated wooden swords. These swords are among various favors for parade viewers, which include handmade journals, hand-painted soldiers, a medieval song book, and a saint medallion.
At the end of the parade, a final change will be featured—a large Joan of Arc puppet. Receiving the name "Blessing Joan," this puppet will symbolically bless the crowd as the krewe members will operate the hands to act out a blessing gesture.
Joan of Arc in Past Years
The Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc began with 50 walking members, which has now grown to 850 people dressed up in medieval costumes and operating artistic props. The krewe strives to uphold the memory and legacy of Joan of Arc through educational and artistic programming. The Joan of Arc Parade and Salon de Jeanne d'Arc achieve this mission.
Salon de Jeanne d'Arc is an annual conference, which took place in September and October 2025, with the intention of uniting the public in an effort to educate guests on the significance of Joan of Arc and her present-day relevance.
The krewe also hosts annual art shows and contests where winners are selected by four local judges. Contest winners and additional submissions are all selected for the art show and curated by the Ariodante Gallery's owners. Twenty artworks were selected from the 2025 competition and displayed in the main gallery of the Ariodante Gallery.
