- The Krewe of Bacchus parade will start at the intersection of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans.
- The parade will head along Napoleon Avenue north until St. Charles Avenue, where the parade will turn east (right).
- The Krewe of Bacchus will follow St. Charles all the way to Harmony Circle (Lee Circle 1884 - 2017), around the circle and back on St. Charles northward to Canal Street.
- At Canal, the parade turns right, heading southeast down Canal.
- At the intersection of Canal and Tchoupitoulas Street, the parade will turn south (right) down Tchoupitoulas.
- The krewe will proceed south to the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Julia St., where the parade will turn left and proceed until it reaches Convention Center Blvd.
- At Convention Center Boulevard the parade will and turn right and proceed to the Convention Center at Henderson St.
There are big Mardi Gras parades, and then there’s Bacchus. For generations of New Orleanians, Bacchus Sunday has been one of those nights you circle on the Carnival calendar—the Sunday before Fat Tuesday, when the crowds get a little bigger, the floats get a whole lot bigger and St. Charles Avenue feels like the center of the universe.
Founded in 1968, the Krewe of Bacchus helped change the face of Mardi Gras. The krewe set out to make Carnival more spectacular and more accessible, introducing enormous “super-floats” and breaking with tradition by choosing a nationally known celebrity to reign as king. When Bacchus first rolled in 1969, entertainer Danny Kaye led the parade.Since then, the throne of Bacchus has attracted an impressive list of royalty. Past monarchs have included Bob Hope, Harry Connick Jr., Nicolas Cage, Drew Brees, Will Ferrell, Anthony Mackie, J.K. Simmons and Shaquille O’Neal, among many others. Part of the fun every year is finding out who will put on the crown next.
But around here, the floats are every bit as famous as the king. Bacchus, named for the god of wine, is known for its enormous animated signature floats, including the beloved Baccha-Kong family, Bacchasaurus, Bacchagator and the giant whale Bacchawhoppa. The four-section Bacchaneer pirate ship joined the lineup for the krewe’s 50th anniversary. These aren’t floats that quietly roll past—you can see them coming down the avenue, and that first glimpse of Kong or the Bacchagator above the crowd is one of those sights that never really gets old, no matter how many Mardi Gras you’ve seen.
If you’ve never experienced Bacchus Sunday, put it on your “to catch” list.
- Year founded: 1968
- Membership: 1,700+ male riders
- Number of floats: 35
