Growing up in New Orleans, my favorite carnival krewes were always the smaller independent marching clubs. It was thrilling to me because they weren’t elevated on floats but right there on the street in front of you mingling with the spectators amid the music and chaos. Pete Fountain’s Half-Fast Walking Club, the Irish Channel Corner Club, the Jefferson City Buzzards, Lyons Carnival Club, Mondo Kayo, etc. In more recent years, the number of these krewes has exploded. I was fortunate enough to march with the oldest of these groups, the Jefferson City Buzzards on a couple of Mardi Gras mornings. I’ll save those stories for another day. This fun painting was inspired by the Krewe de Canaille, a group parading here in Lafayette, LA that remind me so much of these older New Orleans krewes. Rather than a single collective, I think they are more a hodge-podge of mysterious and nefarious sub-krewes. Which mask are you?
