Springtime is Parade-Time

For South BR Neighbors

 

In Louisiana we throw a parade for almost every holiday celebration and Baton Rouge is certainly no exception.  

 

There are Mardi Gras parades throughout the city at this time of year.   They are followed by a huge St. Patrick’s Day parade where you’re just as likely to catch a pair of green beads as you are a green head of cabbage..

 

Here is a little information about most of the parades coming your way this spring:

 

St. James Place Mardi Gras Parade

St. James Place takes advantage of their 52-acre campus during the Mardi Gras season by hosting a parade for their residents and families on February 5 at 10 a.m.  

 The brass band Prime Time Players leads the parade and a group on motorcycles made up of Capital City Rotarians will follow.   The parade will show off royalty from each of the St. James Place   neighborhoods and a king and queen made up of staff members will rein once again.

 

Southdowns Parade

The 23rd Annual Krewe of Southdowns Parade will roll at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 12.   The theme this year is “Southdowns is Really Cookin’.”

 

The royalty of 2010 is King Gus Wilkes and Queen Kate Kane LaBorde.

 

This nighttime parade was started in 1988 just because of the flambeau.   When Dr. Will Gladney was in medical school in New Orleans, he and some friends participated in Mardi Gras as flambeau carriers in parades such as the Feret Street Parade, the Krewe of Tux and Endymion, among others. When he graduated from medical school and moved back home to Baton Rouge he had to start the Southdowns Mardi Gras Parade so he and his buds could continue their flambeau tradition.  

 

The parade is made up of homemade floats and anyone who wants to carry a flambeau is welcome!

 

Spanish Town Parade

The unique neighborhood Spanish Town is rolling their 30th annual Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, February 13 at noon.   The theme this year is “XXXpress It.”   The XXX is in reference to 30 years of parading and reflects the “naughty-but-nice” nature of this parade.

 

Royalty in this years parade will be King Tom Sylvest, Queen Liz Walker and Grand Marshall Nick Spitzer.

 

Spanish Town prides itself on being unique, almost eclectic.   Sarcasm and irony rule.   The parade mocks people in positions of authority and is sometimes off color.   While not strictly a G-rated family event, many children tag along with their parents and have a wonderful time.

This parade was started in 1981 when the residents of Spanish Town decided to "celebrate their difference" from nearby neighborhoods.   For the first parade, residents walked along Spanish Town Road, while children threw a few beads from a bass boat being pulled by a pickup.   Parade-goers hurried to the next corner to throw the beads back to the marchers so the parade could go on!   Today, the parade has grown tremendously.   The neighborhood gets into the Mardi Gras spirit as soon as the flamingos appear in Baton Rouge.   Haven’t seen any flamingos?   Check out www.spanishtownmardigras.com for more information on the Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade.

Southside Gardens

Southside Gardens Retirement Community is opening their doors to the community on Monday, February 15 at 1:30 p.m. for their 2nd annual Mardi Gras parade.   The residents of the retirement community are excited to catch the throws that volunteers will distribute from their decorated vehicles or bikes.  

Westminister/Pine Park

The Westminister/Pine Park parade has been a big hit with their neighborhood, but due to the high cost of insurance, the Civic Association has decided not to roll this year.

(Meanwhile there is a rumor that a few bicycles and skate boards just might take off on an unauthorized roll around the neighborhood sometime between now and Mardi Gras.)

 

Since the early 1990s, the Westminister/ Pine Park parade grew from mothers and children walking and riding bikes through the streets of the twin subdivisions to mini floats made out of cars or trailers filled with neighbors celebrating together.   The sheriff and St. Georges Fire Department often came out to participate.

 

“We have even had the Baton Rouge mayor come out.   That was a big deal for our neighborhood,” said Dawnette Shelton, the WPP Civic Association President. “Other groups like the Girl Scouts and the Shriner’s came and got involved.”  

 

“It helped us form a sense of community. It got the neighbors out of the house to get together and it was a great opportunity for the young couples to meet,” said Shelton. “After the parade we would all gather at the neighborhood pool and have a mini social with king cake and celebrate Mardi Gras together.”

 

We are all hoping the neighborhood will soon be able to have their parade once again, if not this year then maybe next year.   “We may just have to go back to how it was when it started and let it be about just having fun,” said Shelton.

 

St. Patrick's Parade

 

St. Patrick’s Parade

The 25th anniversary of The Wearin’ of the Green Parade, Baton Rouge’s own St. Patrick’s Day parade, will run on Saturday, March 13.  

The parade begins at the corner of Hundred Oaks and South Acadian Thruway (by the Catholic Life Center); takes a right on Eugene; takes a left on Terrace; takes a final left on Perkins Road and continues down over the overpass ending just under the interstate. All floats continue to roll through the intersection at Lee Drive even though the parade has officially ended.   This year Grand Marshall Michael Leahy from Ireland will lead the 75 floats through the city.

It is said that the parade has led two lives.   Once in the 1960s, when the Irish Club of Baton Rouge headed up the parade and painted a green stripe through the streets and joined with the Baton Rouge locals to hold grand festivities, then again in 1986 when Pat Shingleton reorganized the Baton Rouge Irish Club and the Wearin’ of the Green Parade.   With better organization from a group of dedicated volunteers and the support of then-Mayor/President Pat Screen, the parade caught on quickly.  

 

Today it is a huge success.   Lively after-parade parties are held all over South Baton Rouge, and local Irishmen and all stripes of Red Stickers have a great time at this family friendly event.

 

For more information, visit www.paradegroup.com.

 

So its springtime folks!!   Look around, the weather is mostly wonderful and there are parades all over South Baton Rouge at this time of year.   There are even a few in old downtown Baton Rouge.  

 

Don’t miss out on the exciting springtime fun of walking or riding in a parade or just standing on the corner catching a few pairs of beads, stuffed animals and/or assorted trash and trinkets.   HAVE FUN!

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Insurance Requirement Threatens SBR Parades

 

The East Baton Rouge City-Parish began enforcing a law two years ago that is threatening the future of some neighborhood parades and keeping new neighborhood parades from even being considered.

 

“I don’t know what is going to happen because the cost really is tough on us,” said President Bill Freshwater of the Kenilworth Civic Association.   “You can’t expect the Cub Scouts, swim teams, the mayor and the city fire department to pay a fee so they can parade through Kenilworth.   Therefore, we really have no way to come up with that big premium to cover our Independence Day Parade.”

 

The Kenilworth Civic Association had to pay over $700 for a $1 million liability insurance policy last year and the year before because of the newly enforced requirement. The required policy covers the association in case of a suit and the City/Parish must be named as a co-insured.  

 

“Actually this is not a new law,” explained Jackie West of the Risk Management Office of city government who must sign off on parade permits before they can be issued.   “We just began enforcing it two years ago.”

 

The majority of civic associations in Louisiana do not routinely carry liability insurance because of a state law specifically exempting officers and board members from suit.   In case of an accident the Associations can be sued but there is rarely enough in their coffers to make that worthwhile.  

 

“We will not be able to parade this Mardi Gras season for the first time in over 30 years because of the City Parish liability insurance requirement,” said President Dawnette Shelton of the Westminster/PinePark Civic Association.   “We have had a wonderful parade for so many years, but now we just can’t afford it.”

 

Shelton said civic groups wishing to start new parades would certainly be discouraged from doing so by the $1 million liability insurance requirement.  

 

“People wanting to close streets for parties must go through proper channels,” explained West.   “It is absolutely not our intention to stop anybody from parading, but the city has tightened up these restrictions for everyone across the board.”

 

Attorney Gene Booth of the City/Parish Risk Management Office said the insurance is not a requirement of his office.   “We did not make the rule, but if the city got hit with a suit it could be very expensive.   If some bystanders were injured the liability would go back to the taxpayers,” he said.

 

Booth said a private function of a private organization should assume the liability in case of a suit.   He said the City/Parish carries many forms of insurance on its buildings and vehicles but it self-insures when it comes to liability.   “We are just requiring that you show you have insurance to protect the city,” said Booth.  

Booth promised to look into a less expensive alternative for civic associations struggling with the liability insurance requirement.  

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