Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus

This was my first and probably last Mardi Gras parade. Prior to this past weekend, I had never been to a Mardi Gras parade as I'm neither Catholic nor do I live in a place that has ever celebrated Mardi Gras outside of a school French class or club. When I was in New Orleans this past weekend, I had no idea that Mardi Gras parades happen here every weekend from January 6 - the actual day of Mardi Gras.This past weekend was Chewbacchus, a play on Chewbacca and Bacchus, the Roman God of wine. It was supposed to be a space / Star Wars themed parade. There had been some sort of kerfuffle between Chewbacchus organizers and the NOLA police about the lack of police signing up to work the parade and articles on the local stations said that the Chewbacchus Krewe was upset about having to cut their route short because they had planned each leg meticulously so it would be difficult to change again. Reading about this online from local news stations and in the Where Magazine made me think that this parade had choreographed dance and music numbers, like the Rose Bowl parade. Lol NO. At 6:45 PM, my husband and I got our spot on 1116 Decatur Street and at 7:18 PM we saw the first of the parade roll through. I am sure that everyone in the parade was having fun but as someone who isn't a Star Wars person, this parade seemed like a disorganized mess. There were long gaps between different sections of the parade and few floats. Almost all of the dance numbers were pretty much everyone just freestyling or walking to music. Even the people with instruments weren't playing together, with some people simply holding instruments. I'm know that I'm not the target audience but I expected something more choreographed for the amount of people that showed up and the media coverage it received prior to to the parade. It sort of felt like watching people walk around a convention in their outfits than what me, as an outsider, imagined an official Mardi Gras parade would be like.

After the parade drought of the past two years, the Krewe of Chewbaccus delivered exactly what we needed, two hours of non-stop intergalactic fun! Unlike the major parades, this is a walking parade consisting mainly of local families showcasing their creativity. The crowds were large, but well behaved. So many great sub-krewes dancing, marching, playing and performing. Perfect way to kick-off carnival!

One of the best times you will ever have! A family friendly option for the start of the Mardi Gras season!Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus is a smaller Mardi Gras parade with a nerdy science fiction theme to it. It's a walking parade instead of the larger floats that are accustom to most Mardi Gras parades. Don't let that fool you, the parade went on for at least two hours, had a lot of lively brass/jazz bands, and certainly people get really into it without it getting too "adult oriented" like some of the parades.Pick a spot in the French Quarter to get a prime viewing curb seat, and enjoy a very cool vibe in one of the coolest cities you can visit!

My favorite moments from the parade this year (2019). A subkrewe had just walked past and started chanting SHARK! Then they all ran around in circles creating a Sharknado. Good times. Also the King Cake babies dancing then returning to their natural state by laying on the ground, arms and legs up. OH! And the pacman antics. All you dots are underrated! The game would be nothing without you! And everyone was having fun.With nothing else going on this past Saturday night, the parade was the biggest I've seen and so was the crowd. Special shout out and thanks to the krewe of trash pickup!

Always a fun time! The handmade throws from each sub-krewe are some of the most creative and interesting to say the least! I love the costumes and floats! They have some of the coolest bands. Great music!

The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus was a cool parade. Having never seen this parade, I was intrigued when I found out Nola Yelp's own Dennis G. would be piloting the Millennium Falcon. I was impressed by his skill transporting Peter Mayhew, but the rest of the parade seemed a bit chaotic.When I first heard about the parade I was thinking it would be all Star Wars related themes. While there was plenty of Star Wars, there were numerous other themes, including unicorns. I especially appreciated the unicorns since I used to live in Gretna, but the other themes were cool as well.The parade did seem a bit disorganized and chaotic. The marchers were all over the place and there was no clear order. It also seemed as if the cops were rushing the parade as the cop at the end of the parade kept blaring his siren to make the marches move faster. I realize he probably didn't want to be there, but the siren was a bit unnecessary.Everyone who marched in the parade seemed to be enjoying themselves. In fact, they looked like they were having so much fun that I am considering joining the Krewe next year. Who wouldn't want to get dressed in a wookie costume, drink beer and march through the streets?

I've never seen anything like this in my 24 years of existence. I came the weekend before the craziness of Mardi Gras began and I'm so glad I got to experience this parade. It was 2 hours of pure happiness and sheer creativity like I have never experienced!!! There are about 90 intergalactic Krewes that walk through the marigny and st roch area. The best place to stand would be st Claude ave because it was the area with least crowds. The costumes and themes were out of this world great and it was the most fun I had at any parade by far. I'll never miss this parade again!

I had not ever been to this particular parade. It is before most other parades, Saturday night. All walking parade, where bicycles are the main vehicle for pulling "floats". I marched in this parade for 2020, and let me tell you, it was an adventure. The crowds were lighter near the beginning, and thick by the end, and everyone was more drunk by the end, both those marching in the parade and the crowds. I now have some more insight for the people coming to view the parade. It is not cool to come up to the people marching and drunkenly tell them how good they are and how you want to be with them. Not fun. It is also not cool to grope them, or to expose yourself to them. I saw a few people puking on themselves. I shouldn't be as shocked as I am. Oh well. It was fun. I came, I saw, I conquered.

Krewe of Chewbacchus is one of the most unique parades for the Mardi Gras. This is the one that I like the most. This parade took place at the eastside of the out skirt of the French Quarter. This side of the town is more hypies and biker look. The parade theme is Intergalactic hero Chewbacchus in the Star Wars movie. It is about intergalactic movie series. The parade people dress like the character of the movie. You almost can say you are in the star war convention. This is an up close parade. You will be at an arm length from the parade. Before the parade, people are party at the street of the intersection of Frenchmen and Decatur Street. There are ladies walk by selling shot of alcohol in tube or Jell-O. When the parade start, People are pushing each other try to get to front to watch the parade. This parade is making up from the local people using the card board cut out and make into the shape. The floats are bicycle, golf cart, dune buggy, or man power push cart. The parade people dresses in character in Star War are Captain Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, a lot of Princess Leia, Dark Vader, Obi One Kenobi. The other movie themes are Star Trek, Guardian of the Galaxy, Super Mario, E.T., How to Train the Dragon, Zombies the Living Dead, Ghost Buster.........Data in the Star Trek look real as the movie. This will please a lot of Treky. The Zombie is Kid friendly scary. Princess Leia has shown the two hair round bundles that is cute like movie. I cannot say enough, please experience yourself. Be prepare the crowd will get excited and push from behind. This is not a bead route but occasionally they give up the bead like items. If you want to avoid the crowd, please stand at the quarter point of the route. However, the most action is at the intersection of Decatur and Frenchmen Street. Please be early in that intersection for the front row.

Handmade throws, lots of kind nerds. What more can you ask for? Like the old-fashioned parades (or so my mom tells me) with contraptions instead of floats. My favorite Mardi Gras parade hands down.