Parades – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

The pandemic in the United States, now more than a year old, hits a number of calendar milestones for the second time, including St. Patrick’s Day parades across the country. The sudden cancellation of the parades last year was one of the first big signs of how disruptive the pandemic was going to be to normal life in the United States

Although many states and cities have been tentatively easing various Covid restrictions recently, most places have not cleared the way for a resumption of the parades, which can be among the most ruthlessly effective types of super-spreading events.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago was canceled again; the parade in Boston was again canceled; the one in Philadelphia, canceled again. The New York City parade, which aims to maintain its distinction as the world’s oldest uninterrupted St. Patrick’s Day parade, will once again be largely ceremonial and very low-key, with a small group walking down Fifth Avenue at an unannounced time early on Tomorrow – that is, when the city and the state allow anything to be done at all.

Some places give the commemorations a twist. The 37th annual parade in St. James, Long Island is now being held by car. the one in Hilton Head, SC, moves to the water; and the one in Pittsburgh (maybe) moving into the fall. A drive-in Celtic Rock concert is scheduled in Dublin, California .; a 3-mile virtual run in Naperville, Illinois; and a day of green beer in plastic cups delivered from masked servers between plexiglass shades at McGillin’s Olde Ale House in Philadelphia.

Last year, bars from Chicago to New Orleans were full on the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day despite local parades being canceled, resulting in stern admonitions from mayors and governors. This year officials are asking people to stay home, or at least be vigilant when they are out.

“We have not come to a point where we can start big St. Patrick’s Day celebrations,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, recently briefed reporters.

Still, not everyone is resigned to lying low for another year.

In the city of Erin, Wisconsin, with a population of around 3,800, last year’s parade, the 40th, was canceled at short notice: floats had already been prepared and previous parade kings and queens were planned. This year local officials and volunteers are determined to do everything possible to make a parade happen.

“We made a decision in late January,” said Dennis Kenealy, a retired attorney who is the city council’s chairman. “If we couldn’t get all of the health precautions together, we’d be repealing them anyway. But let’s try. “

Mr. Kenealy gave reasons why the organizers felt comfortable going forward: The parade will take place outdoors along a stretch of motorway; Spectators can line up to watch from their cars; A Wednesday morning parade is likely to attract fewer people than in previous years. and Wisconsin is currently doing better than most of the country in both the percentage of people fully vaccinated and the rate of newly reported cases. A nationwide mask mandate remains in force.

Even so, Mr Kenealy said he hoped that one of the few St. Patrick’s Day parades this year wouldn’t make Erin a magnet for large crowds out of town.

“I would hope too many don’t show up for that reason,” said Kenealy. “I mean, we’re pretty far out here. And we don’t offer much, nothing that you couldn’t see elsewhere. “

By Annie Flanagan and Akasha Rabut

NEW ORLEANS – The sunset streamed through the warehouse windows where René Píerre had carved styrofoam float supports, and carefully added dozens of decorations for this year’s Mardi Gras celebration on Tuesday.

Mr. Píerre owns Crescent City Artists and has been a Mardi Gras Float Artist for 34 years. But this time he had to find a new way of doing things. The parades were canceled by the city to prevent large crowds from gathering, leaving him and other celebrities decided to build floats in front of people’s houses instead.

It was mid-January and just a few weeks before the celebration, Mr. Píerre’s clothes and hands were covered in paint. Two float artists and an experienced float carpenter worked alongside him. “I’m running on steam now,” said Mr Pierre.

Mr Píerre was not sure whether the celebration would take place at all.

As the coronavirus spread, tourism was one of the first activities to go away. That’s no more obvious than during Carnival season, which usually brings millions of dollars to New Orleans every year.

The loss of parades is both financial and spiritual. Since the first New Orleans Mardi Gras in 1857, elaborate floats have roamed the city on the last Tuesday before Lent. Thousands of people fill the streets, and marching bands and dance teams come from all over to perform. Their horns and drums echoed off buildings. Social clubs and groups of artists and organizers, known by names like Krewe von Orpheus and Krewe von Musen, spend practically every month of the year preparing floats and celebrations.

But not this time. Marching bands won’t march. Bars all over the city are closed. When the parades were canceled, dozens of float artists and carpenters were laid off.

But the city wasn’t ready to give up. Shortly after the cancellation was announced, a woman, Megan Boudreaux, said on Twitter: “It’s decided. We’ll do it. Turn your house into a car and toss any pearls from your attic and neighbors who walk by. “

The idea came up and Krewes like Muses and Red Beans started working on houses almost immediately.

Ms. Boudreaux founded the Krewe of House Floats, which keeps track of the number of installations she and others have built in the city. There are around 3,000 house cars in the New Orleans area.

“I think it really speaks to how desperate people were for something positive to look forward to,” said Ms. Boudreaux. “It doesn’t matter if your budget is zero and you recycle cardboard boxes or if your budget is tens of thousands of dollars and you have a mansion in St. Charles. We want everyone who wants to do this to take part. “

Krewe from Red Beans has provided frontline workers with meals and found work for unemployed artists. It is said to have raised nearly $ 300,000 and created nearly 50 jobs so far for one of its programs, Hire a Mardi Gras Artist.

“It’s New Orleans to take a bad situation and turn into a positive one,” said Kelli Starrett, who had Mr. Píerre install a float in her home. “We won’t have a parade? OK, we’re going to decorate houses and find a way to employ artists and raise money for charity. This speaks for the resilience of the people in the city. “

This year’s floats will not all be solemn. Some will pay tribute to members of the Mardi Gras Indians, known for their intricate hand-sewn suits who have died. The community is black and its traditions are rooted in African culture.

As in other parts of the country, the virus has ravaged black homes in New Orleans, and black patients accounted for more than three-quarters of those hospitalized with Covid-19 in the city last spring.

Five house poses, all within blocks, each show a three-meter-long portrait of a deceased Carnival Indian.

For Mr Píerre, 54, house cars brought hope.

His wife Inez had already lost her job as a psychiatrist when the parades were canceled in late November. “We tried to find a job that is safe for us to survive,” said Inèz.

But while the parades could not go on, the wagons could. Mr. Píerre began offering to build house cars for others. “The light bulb went out,” he said. “This is our ticket out.”

Less than a month before Carnival, three of Mr Píerre’s employees huddled in a U-Haul truck and crossed the city to build equipment. Mr. Píerre has worked on 60 house poses in the greater New Orleans area.

In a house with a cart dedicated to the actor Dolly Parton, Inez Píerre leaned against the fence and watched as workers put up large painted panels.

“Sometimes I have to sit and think about how easily tradition changes,” she said. “We are part of it; Our names are in the books. This is a dream come true. “

Annie Flanagan and Akasha Rabut are New Orleans photographers.

Correction: February 13, 2021

An earlier version of a caption with this article mischaracterized one of the Krewes. The Krewe of the Muses is an all female Krewe, but not the greatest all female Krewes.