As if New Orleans wasn't satisfied with Mardi Gras, Halloween was definitely up for the taking as another excuse to throw a parade. This time, however, it's not so much for the sake of partying but for a charitable cause. The Krewe of Boo, formed by Blaine Kern Sr., a.k.a Mr. Mardi Gras, will be hosting New Orleans' first ever Halloween parade for the sole purpose of raising money to house the police, fire and EMS personnel of New Orleans.
The krewe sprouted from the First Responder's Fund, which was first conceived in 2006 by Kern after a fund raising event for the family of a New Orleans police officer killed in the line of duty.
After speaking with several of the officer's colleagues, Kern came to learn of the inadequate housing conditions the first responder personnel were exposed to during the months following Hurricane Katrina. Kern believed that the poor housing conditions in which they lived was negatively affecting the city, and by helping the first responders, he was helping the recovery of the city. Thus the First Responders Fund was born in July of 2007.
Two initiatives were announced from the coming of the Fund: a housing program for the first responders and the Krewe of Boo Halloween Parade, with the krewe being another means to raise money to buy a house which will be given away on Halloween to a first responder.
“We're a little bit different, we're a little bit more contemporary, modern,” said Lou Bartolo, 31, who is the special events coordinator for the krewe.. “We have a purpose and a mission...and that mission to raise funds in order to provide housing for first responders. We want to be known, we want to be out there, we're not being secretive about anything with Krewe of Boo.”
The Krewe of Boo is different than any other Mardi Gras krewe in more ways than one, but especially in terms of its purpose.The krewe is 501(c) company, which means they are a non-profit organization. The members of the krewe work all year raising money through donations, grants and through krewe memberships. Not only is it meant to raise money for charity, but to bring tourism to the city.
“Just like people want to go to New York or San Francisco for Halloween, we want to be number one, we want to be number two, number three on that spot as far as places to go on Halloween, as a Halloween destination,” said Bartolo.
Membership to the krewe starts at $650 per person, which includes a place on a float, a costume tickets to two krewe events, and can go up to several thousands of dollars for specialty costumes, such as Marie Laveau and a vampire resembling Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat, called Vampire LeYat. The most generous donors usually become the King and Queen of the krewe. This year Holly Brown will be the Queen of Halloween, or the queen of the Krewe. Murray Valene, who is well known for his community involvement in New Orleans will play the part of Vampire LeYat this year and his wife Gerri will play Marie Leveau.
The parade will consist of between 17 and 20 Mardi Gras bean floats and smaller but more decorated floats used by Universal Studios called sculptured floats. The parade will start at 7 p.m. on Halloween night. There will be a pre-parade party at the Marriott Convention Center Hotel on Halloween where Blaine Kern will announce the recipient of the house.
In addition to the parade, the krewe hosts three events throughout the year: the soiree, which is a black tie event held for the members and patrons of the krewe, the open house—a family event, and the costume party, which is held after the parade.
The post-parade costume party will be held at Mardi Gras World on the East Bank, which is Blaine Kern's new facility. All members of the Krewe are invited including guests, who can purchase tickets at $100 per person. The party will be held from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. The parade route can be found at their Web site, www.kreweofboo.org.
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