The Krewe of Bacchus was formed in 1968 to parade during the New Orleans Mardi Gras and is largely attributed with transforming and revitalizing the annual celebration into its modern form. Revelers, Frenchmen Street, Faubourg Marigny. ...

By opting to parade on the normally quiet Sunday night before Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday and by constructing the largest and most spectacular floats ever seen in Carnival, Bacchus's founder, Owen Edward Brennan, Sr., brought a true vision for the future of Mardi Gras and ushered in the modern era. In the Christian calendar, Shrove Tuesday is the English name for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which in turn marks the beginning of Lent. ... A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Tournament of Roses Parade. ... Swabian-Alemannic carnival clowns in Wolfach, Germany A carnival is a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party, generally during the carnival season. ...

Bacchus also broke 113 years of carnival tradition by introducing the first national celebrity King. Past Kings have included: William Shatner, Charlton Heston, Jackie Gleason, and Bob Hope. William Bill Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Canadian actor, who gained fame for his starring role as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ... Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor noted for heroic roles and his long involvement in political issues. ... Herbert John Jackie Gleason (b. ... Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was a famous British-born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel. ...

Today, with more than 1,000 members and 31 animated super-floats, the Krewe of Bacchus is revered as one of the most spectacular Krewes in Mardi Gras history.

External Link

• Krewe of Bacchus