April 6, 2012
New Orleans Easter Parade Turns Thirteen
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 3 MIN.
NEW ORLEANS, LA - The 13th annual Official Gay Easter Parade rolls Easter Sunday, April 8th beginning at 4:30pm following its traditional route through the French Quarter beginning at N. Rampart and St. Ann Streets. Led by Easter Grand Marshals XIII Darwin Reed and Rhonda Roget, this year's parade promises to be the largest in its history with over 30 carriages, wagons, and trolleys plus bands, walking groups, cars and trucks.
The elegant parade showcases the creativity and culture of the Gay Community in Old New Orleans. Parade attire requested is Gentlemen: Summer Suits/Tux with Hats, Ladies: Easter Suits/Dresses with Easter Bonnets/Hats. No nudity, partial nudity or sexually explicit throws are allowed in the parade. Thousands line the streets each year with many of those being children.
The parade minus expenses raised by the Gay Easter Parade benefits Food For Friends, as it has for many years. Each rider in the parade pays for their carriage or provides their own transportation.
In the past ten years, the Gay Easter Parade has generated over $111,187 for New Orleans charities. The Food For Friends (FFF) Program is a program of the NO/AIDS Task Force and has been supplying groceries and home delivered meals to HIV infected and affected individuals in the greater New Orleans area for over 14 years with the NO/AIDS Task Force serving the community for over 25 years.
Over 500 meals a week are currently being delivered to clients who are home bound or otherwise unable to prepare their own meals or shop. Over 23,000 meals were delivered through the Home Delivered Meals Program.
The schedule for Easter Sunday includes:
>2-4pm, Pre-Parade Party & Buffet, Michael's On The Park, 834 N. Rampart. All parade participants must check in with the Parade Line-up Chair Steve Patrick inside the front door to pick up their "official" line-up ticket. You will not be able to board your carriage or place your vehicle in the parade without it.
>4-4:30pm, Board Carriages, followed by vehicle line-up.
>4:30pm, 13th Gay Easter Parade Rolls
>5:30pm, Post Parade Party & Buffet, 700 Club, 700 Burgundy Street.
The parade rolls rain or shine. There are no cancellations or refunds. The route begins on N. Rampart traveling down St. Louis to Bourbon, Bourbon to Esplanade, Esplanade to Royal, Royal to St. Louis, St. Louis to N. Rampart, N. Rampart to Toulouse, Toulouse to Burgundy, ending at the corner of Burgundy and St. Peter.
Visit www.GayEasterParade.com for more information.
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
