Krewe

Krewe (carnival organization)

There are probably hundreds of krewes in New Orleans. They come from a wide variety of social classes, political directions and professional groups. There are women's krewes like Venus and Iris, black krewes like Zulu, gay krewes and many more.

The members of a krewe pay an annual fee. This depends on which social class the krewe is rooted in and can range from several thousand dollars to less than twenty dollars a year. At krewes with lower membership fees, members help build and decorate the floats, and they make their own costumes. At krewes with higher contributions, this work will be commissioned.

As a parody of the monarchy, each Mardi Gras Krewe has the following hierarchy: king, queen, prince, knight, officers, etc.
In some krewes the name of the ruling "rex" is kept secret. The Krewes organize a move (parade) and/or a Mardi Gras ball. The procession of a Krewe usually consists of a signature float (moving wagon) and a title float (motto moving wagon).

signature float

Moving truck that represents the same every year. It is part of the krewe trademark. A krewe can have several such signature floats.

Title float

The title float is different every year because it shows the theme of the move