Jieuxs on Parade

Each year, the Krewe du Jieux—a Mardi Gras parading outfit—names a King of the Jieuxs and a Jieuxish-American Princess. Last year’s princess was the novelist Moira Crone, and the king was her husband, the poet Rodger Kamenetz, seen here wearing the royal Golden Nose.

Robin White, the 2010 Jieuxish-American Princess.

Lawyer and photographer L.J. Goldstein, at left, founded the Krewe du Jieux in 1996. “When people take hold of these stereotypes and debunk them, and take the power away from them, and do this outrageous, comical display, it makes the world a better place for everybody,” he said.

The Running of the Jieuxs, a parade through the French Quarter—with a nod to Borat.

Krewe du Jieux founder L.J. Goldstein, at left, paraded during the Running of the Jieuxs with Jennifer Jones, one of the most prominent women in the New Orleans street-parade scene.

The Krewe du Mishigas parades as a sub-krewe of the Krewe du Vieux, a sort of Mardi Gras fringe festival that since the 1980s has provided a very downtown alternative to the relatively staid, traditional Uptown parades. The krewe’s theme this year was “Krewe du Mishigas Stokes the Burning Bush,” and its float depicted Mistress Hot Knish.

Peter Title, king of the Krewe du Mishigas, road the krewe’s float alongside his Queen (and wife), Sheryl.

A member of the Krewe du Mishigas, in costume for the parade.

The Panorama Brass Band, which backed the Krewe du Mishigas’s segment of the parade, includes a number of klezmer musicians.

The Krewe of Comatose’s float—titled “Jindal Drops the Pelican’s Briefs”—was one of the highlights of the Krewe du Vieux parade. When the float started rolling, an ingeniously placed motor allowed a likeness of Louisiana’s governor to treat the state bird in the manner that many New Orleanians feel he has treated them. Photo by Justin Vogt.