Krewe of Endymion

The Krewe of Endymion is hands down one of my favorite parades during Mardi Gras! The atmosphere is electric, and they are incredibly generous with their throws. We caught an impressive haul of beads, balls, cups, and so much more! Sitting right by the bridge on Claiborne Ave has become a cherished family tradition for us, and it offers a fantastic view of all the festivities. If you're looking for a vibrant and fun-filled Mardi Gras experience, Endymion is a must-see!

Every year, the Krewe of Endymion seems to get better and better. It is truly one of my top 3 favorites to see every year. 2019 reminded me why I prefer this parade over many others. 1. The floats--my favorite being the colorful and prolonged "Pontchartrain Beach"-- are gorgeous! If there is any Krewe that spends money and expends effort on their float designs, it's Endymion. The floats are always well lit and full of color and imagery. I also love the gold, light-up masks that members wear. 2. The bands! The selection of bands is top notch. There are plenty, and each performs well. 3. The throws really set them apart. Aside from beads, I literally walked away with about 20 different trinkets. Now, as a 26-year-old, I don't care much about beads and the like, but I think it's awesome that this Krewe diversifies their throws so much. I literally had a bead with an electronic mini tv screen! And they are not stingy with the throws! As a matter of fact, they were hurling them at us right before they entered the Superdome for their extravaganza. 4. The overall atmosphere is what really seals the deal for me. I love the mid-city to downtown route, and the crowd is always hype, friendly, and somewhat tipsy. But I would honestly say it's still a kid-friendly parade, especially if you catch it at the beginning. Endymion is just a really great parade, in my opinion. If I didn't think I would freeze to death in the Dome, I would go to their Extravaganza. But, unfortunately, my ovaries and toes would likely freeze over in that sub-zero place.

Family oriented, good natured fun. Who could ask for anything more? This is one of my all time favorite parades and one of the best and most popular night parades during Mardi Gras. The floats have amazing lighting effects, the throws are great and there are lots of them (throws and floats).

I love the Endymion fiberoptics and that they parade AWAY from my house. I was able to catch the parade across from Warren Easton HS this year and it was a great spot. Lots of alums were out to cheer on the band as it marched in the parade. Love seeing the local pride. The bands were great and, of course, the riders were super generous with their throws. This year was extra awesome, I brought my niece to see her Daddy ride AND I got to bring awesome PDX Yelpers Melvin & Merilou to their very 1st carnival parade. It was really fun to see the parade through their eyes and my niece had a ton of fun and the crowd was not too aggressive or pushy.Plus I love the esoteric themes, so Endymion goes to the opera was right up my alley. Definitely a great parade...to see away from Orleans Ave.

First off, I was not super excited to attend this parade because I was not looking forward to the chaos and the crowds. So thankful to the person that tipped my husband on where we should park and roost during this parade. We arrived around 2:30, parked at the University Hospital on Canal & Galvez. Special Event Parking was already seat up for $20 and we were a very short walk to the parade route. Took our folding chairs and chilled out a bit before the festivities started. There were public restrooms (for free) just down the street from where we were. Thankfully we brought our cooler with drinks and snacks because there were hardly any restaurants close by. Around 6:00pm (a 4:15 start time at the beginning of the route) and it was cool to see Grand Marshall "Flo-Rida"! There were plenty of light up throws and elaborate floats. There were 36 floats, a bunch of marching bands. It wasn't until the parade was halfway over that we started to get the better throws. People started to leave, so the crowds got a bit sparse and the float riders were throwing a bit further and we didn't have to be so close to the floats to try to get throws. All-in-all, we had a good time and everything stayed pretty peaceful. It was This was my 1st time in all of the 10 years that I've lived here in Louisiana that I attended the Krewe Of Endymion parade. Irritants: smokers... lots of them and we waited a bit too long to leave, so it took us almost an hour to get out of the area. If you have never been as a Louisiana resident, you must check out this super krewe parade and visitors seeing it for the 1st time, you are in for a treat. Beware: the streets are left pretty filthy afterwards, but there are some very diligent street cleaners that sweep a huge chunk of the junk off the streets. Woohoo!

Endymion is the Alpha Male of the parade world. The floats are so extravagant and long it puts mere mortal parades out to pasture. Endymion is the biggest parade of them all and as such the crowds do come out in droves.I love Endymion! It is easily my #1 or #2 favorite parade (the others being Orpheus and Zulu). It's so hard to pick a favorite. It would be nice to see Endymion with the sun still around. I always catch it at night on crazy as heck Canal St. in downtown area.If you only have a chance to go to one parade during Mardi Gras go to Endymion! Guaranteed fun!!

Overall Endymion was a really fun time this year. Me and my friends walked far and wide to try to find a spot where there weren't any barricades. We finally found an opening at the corner of Saint Charles and Carondelet. Of course Endymion was very crowded. About thirty minutes into the parade a huge storm hit. After waiting the storm out, many people left so there was so much more room! Very good throws! There was this woman next to us who kept flashing her chest for big beads, which was kind of annoying. Some of the riders were even annoyed with her. Hopefully no children saw! But all in all, the ginormous floats were a beautiful sight to see. Really good bands playing as well.

Endymion used to be my favorite parade. I lived a block off the route so it was always the highlight of my year, especially in Midcity. That has changed. The crowds and the people that drive in and descend upon our neighborhood steal our parking, block our driveways and disrespect our yards. They leave behind trash and camp out on the neutral ground days before anything happens, claiming "their" territory.The riders have transformed from generous, friendly men throwing GADS of goodies into elitist, taunting snobs. They dangle baubles and laugh. We all know they save all the good stuff for the people in the Superdome leaving us feel cheated.Really bummed by this year's show and am heavily considering skipping next year for Iris and Tucks instead.

Happy 50th Anniversary Endymion! This super krewe is one of a kind, and if your ever in town the Saturday before Mardi Gras it's a must! This is an early afternoon parade, but honestly you have to go extremely early if you want a front row spot for you and your family. It's so serious that some people camp out for a week or more just to claim their space for this parade. Others come the day of as early as 5am to claim a front row spot. Front row is not imperative if you want to catch good throws, but if you're not up front you might want to invest in a ladder because I can almost guarantee everyone in front of you will be on a ladder. One thing Endymion is known for is the massive amounts of throws. I'm talking tons and tons of beads and trinkets thrown along the parade route. The floats you will see in Endymion are like no other parade! The Pontchartrain beach float for example is 9 sections long measuring 330 feet, and holds 260 riders. You better pay attention when this float passes because if not you will get hit with beads or trinkets, and the beads hurt when they whack you unexpectedly. My favorite part of the parade are all the bands! Bands from colleges and high schools come from all over the country to play in this parade plus many local bands march for Endymion. The most notable local band being The St. Augustine Marching 100.Overall Endymion is an amazing experience. Every year they are growing and improving the parade experience. I just want to thank all the behind the scenes workers that get these floats ready for parade day. You all do a wonderful job, and I can't wait to see what the future brings for Endymion.

Just want to post information about ugly event at Endymion that took place last night, 02/18/2023 about 8:15pm, at intersection of Broad and Canal I witnessed:Read entire comment: A large float had to stop for a period of time. A rider in the upper section started holding up and dangling before the overwhelmingly black crowd a very large and "valuable" necklace and large stuff animal, like a carrot. He tried to whip the crowd into a frenzy with his motions. He dragged this ugly act on for too long. Suddenly, two men about 15 yards from me started fighting over "position" below the ugly float rider. They started fighting, then shouts of "gun!!" were heard and the crowd panicked and surged away from the men. I was fearful of being trampled or having my young grandchildren trampled as panicked people ran. Fortunately, my wife and I and our adult kids and grandchildren got away and left the parade for the evening. I just thought the behavior or dangling "valuable" throws before poor people for excessive periods of time is disgraceful! 99% of float riders can have their reputations damaged by just a few bad riders. Are there are courtesy rules the float riders must abide by? Someone could have been seriously injured by trampling last night! As it was, my family had to leave long before the parade was over. I'm not afraid to post my name and phone number if an Endymion official wants to investigate this. Joe Turner505-670-1975