Photos from the Heart(land)

Photos above by Gene Traas; those below by Laura Traas

Wisconsians Gene and Laura Traas travel someplace warm each New Year--someplace warmer, at least, than Wisconsin in the dead of winter. The year they visited New Orleans for this annual January escape happened to be our inaugural parade year. Since then, their new January tradition is to come to New Orleans to see our parade, photograph it, and enjoy the city surrounding the golden statue of Joan. No more looking at the map and thinking about other relatively warm places. We are it, in spite of our propensity for chilly Twelfth Nights.

Lucky for us, each year the Traases become more involved with the krewe. This year, they volunteered their services as "bartenders" at our krewe post-parade party. I was desperate for someone to pour our mulled wine, donated drinks, and help with the champagne toast. They heard my plea via a few online and email postings (via their $10 donation as Bastard and Maid, they were added to our krewe e-list) and happily agreed to join in the fun. Several hours later, Laura stood guard of the liquor while Gene showed off his cowbell talents with medieval musicians Wolgemut...more evidence that no matter where you end up while on a visit to New Orleans, you're guaranteed to have more fun than you would in your hometown--or most other cities on earth.

Thanks T2 for being so generous of heart and talents--and for visiting our city during a time where our hotels and restaurants and shops are very glad to receive you!! (Hint, hint...if you are out of town and looking for a good time to visit New Orleans...take a hint from these two and come at a less expensive, more insider time..kick off Mardi Gras season with us and miss the madness..if that's your thing! If you are reading this, it just might be!) Check out the Christmas New Orleans Style calendar to see all the cool free holiday stuff you can do--concerts, cooking demos, special Reveillon dinners, and more. The Joan of Arc parade is proud to be included as the "final" CNOS event of the season...as it should be. Twelfth Night officially ends Christmastime, and Carnival time begins...http://www.neworleansonline.com/christmas/

Our Royalty, N'awlins style

For the second year in a row, we honored a local girl and a local man by naming them our Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc Maid of Honor and our King, respectively.

The idea for a Maid of Honor came from the tradition in Orleans, France, where a local girl is chosen to lead their annual May 8 parade, as part of their Fetes de Jeanne d'Arc commemmorating her lifting of the siege of Orleans in 1429.

Our Maid of Honor is selected by application, which includes a short essay required by the applicant on how Joan of Arc's story serves as inspiration. She must be between 16 and 19 years old, a local student with evidence of leadership abilities, community involvement, and some basic French speaking skills. A letter of recommendation is also required, noting the girl's talents and skills and why she best represents our Joan of New Orleans.

The final applicants are "interviewed" briefly in English and in French by someone from the local French community; either someone from the French Consulate, the French American Chamber of Commerce, or Alliance Francaise. The final selection is ultimately made based on a combination of the girl's community service, confidence, and a sincere interest in Joan and all that she represents.

(It's worth noting that most applicants are clearly new to Joan and her story...rather than a disappointment to the contest committee, this warms our hearts to see that we are giving young women an opportunity to learn more about Joan and celebrate her. Both our Maids of Honor came into the role knowing very little about our parade's namesake, and left feeling a new relationship to this iconic Saint and soldier--and to their city in general, by experiencing it in a new way on Twelfth Night, on horseback in the French Quarter).

Our first Maid of Honor was Blair Davis, a student at Newman who showed exceptional community service through her work with disabled adults at The Arc. Our second Maid of Honor, Mallory Young, had an impressive demonstration of leadership skills through innumerable roles in school and city organizations, as well as receiving a Certificat Laureat National in the 2010 National French contest. Both girls had an astounding array of diverse talents, from ballet to vocal studies.

Our King is appointed by our krewe, selected based on his relationship to the French-American community in New Orleans, and chosen as someone we hope will remain an ambassador for the krewe. He is someone who is a leader in the community and shows an interest in working with other organizations to celebrate French culture and New Orleans in general. Our first King was the executive director of the Degas House, David Villarubia. Our second king was Lilian Cadet, executive director of Alliance Francaise New Orleans.

Interesting twists on the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition of royalty:

--We don't have a King and a Queen. We have a Maid and a King.
--Our Maid rides on horseback; our King walks on foot.

--Our Maid of Honor "crowns" the King...representing Joan's hand in ensuring that the Dauphin was crowned at Rheims.
--Both give out throws unique to their roles. The Maid hands out 16 hand-decorated wooden swords with the assistance of her page. The King, this year, tossed Ring Pops candy. Obviously a sense of humor is required for our royalty...

We have a ceremony honoring both Maid and King at the end of the parade whereby the official cutting of the King Cake (it is Twelfth Night, after all) serves several purposes. It represents a birthday cake for Joan, as January 6th is also her birthday. It stands as the first king cake of the season, and it's shared first by King and Maid, then given to the public, thanks to donations by local bakery Gambino's and other generous individuals who bring king cake to share.

Both King and Maid have a chance to give a speech at the end of the parade and both did so this year in French and English. We continue to develop this ritual...

We also capped off this year's king cake ceremony with our first year tradition (skipped last year) of sipping Goldschlagger cinnamon liquor. The gold specs reflect Joan's golden statue, and the cinnamon...well.

Vive Jeanne d'Arc!

Everyone loves a parade

Since the parade, my Google Alerts has captured several blogspots, flickr postings and many mentions of the parade. Opening these is always a wonderful surprise and intensely satisfying as they validate all of our hard work and serve to keep away the post-parade blues. It's super cool to see how many strangers we touched and what delight they had in experiencing what I like to think of as New Orleans street theater. The most fun and rewarding postings to read are by the folks who came across the parade by chance. How I envy those people that moment when they notice a woman dressed as Joan on a horse, riding through the French Quarter...or they catch a glimpse of a group of people walking with flickering candles...

I also feel warm and fuzzy in a civic sense, as I think we're giving the City of New Orleans a gift that keeps on giving beyond our 30 minute procession. One krewe member said her physical therapist brought her two girls, age nine and eleven, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! to the French Quarter to see our parade. They came down early, shopped, had hot chocolate and beignets at Cafe du Monde, then caught the parade. If that doesn't warm your tourist industry heart and give the "be a tourist in your own hometown" sentiment some real encouragement and solid proof, I don't know what will!

Below is just a sampling of what's been showing up in my in-box. Thanks to all of you who took time to post words and photos of your experience! You encourage us and assist us by offering your perspective--and hopefully you inspire others to come out for future parades!


THIS HISTORY PROFESSOR HAPPENED TO BE SITTING AT CAFE DU MONDE AND HEARD WOLGEMUT'S PIPES LEADING OUR PARADE...NATURALLY, HE RAN AFTER THE SOUND!

http://civilwarlibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/01/cwl-on-road-happy-599th-birthday-joan.html

THIS LOCAL LITERARY BLOGGER WROTE ABOUT JEANNE D'ARC's SOUL SISTER, EMILY DICKINSON, BEFORE HEADING OUT TO CELEBRATE JOAN'S BIRTHDAY WITH US

http://emilyeveryday.com/

THIS LUCKY BRITISH FELLOW WAS TRAVELING AROUND THE COUNTRY AND STUMBLED UPON US...WOULD JOAN BE AMUSED TO SEE THIS PHOTO OF OUR JOANIE ON THE PONY LOOKING QUITE PISSED OFF...PERHAPS AT THE BRITS?

http://earth2010.typepad.co.uk/photos/39_new_orleans_and_the_tr/joan-of-arc-parade.html

THIS NEW ORLEANIAN CAME FOR THE FIRST TIME AND WROTE AN EXCELLENT "DIARY" OF THE EXPERIENCE

http://www.artbymags.com/

THIS LOCAL BLOGGER TOOK SOME KILLER SHOTS--WOW--MYSTICAL MAGICAL STUFF!

http://kimberlespins.blogspot.com/2011/01/3656jan-6.html

Kids love the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc!

Photos by Kim Welsh

New Orleans is a costume-lovers dream city. For kids, Mardi Gras season is dreamier than DisneyWorld. You get to wear cool stuff, get cool stuff for free, and walk at night down city streets that otherwise would be totally off-limits! I envy the little ones (and teenagers) who have joined the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc with their parents...imagine being 7, 10, or 13 years old, carrying a sword, and walking through the French Quarter at night. Wow. No wonder they all look so happy! (King cake and candy help!)

Gisleson Family with Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer

Andre Duvoisin, Jr.

Martha Pinney

Krewe member Langhoff and parade-goer

Alms for Joan!

Dear Friends of the Joan of Arc Parade:

Your presence last night meant the world to our still-young krewe honoring the not-so-young (599 years old!) Joan of Arc. Hundreds of citizens--locals and tourists, French and English, American and New Orleanian (ha!)--lined the French Quarter streets to show their love for the Maid of Orleans, to get some cool throws, honor our French heritage, hear great medieval music, and eat the first king cake of the season with us.

Several people came up to me asking how they could get in touch and offer donations. I regret that I have a rather medieval website (this blog and http://www.joanofarcparade.com/) that does not have a Paypal option yet set up. So if you were one of these folks--or one of the many others who just came up to say "thank you for doing this--for Joan and for our city!" or "This is my favorite parade!" or "I have seen you since the beginning and love how you keep building each year!" and you want to show your gratitude by ensuring we continue to grow and make more and other costumes, have more and other Joans,continue to offer king cake and Goldschlagger to the public, expand the route (maybe) and do other Joan related events throughout the year...we welcome your gifts!

Please email me at stjoankrewe@yahoo.com or send a note or alms to our P.O. Box (made payable to our LLC, The Joan of Arc Project):

THE JOAN OF ARC PROJECT
P.O. BOX 56815
NEW ORLEANS LA 70156

We are a small krewe with minimal dues and many hardworking folks who donate their time to make costumes, throws, banners, food, and general merriment. If you want to see us shine on and to make Joan's 600th birthday (2012) as spectacular as it (she) deserves, please consider offering us your support in this way. After all, Joan was a peasant who ended up with a horse, sword, army, banners and quite elegant battle outfits--because she asked for them! (In some cases, she demanded them...but since our cause is not quite as dire as saving France nor urged by imploring voices from Heaven...we are just going to post this gentle nudge and opportunity!)

Of Prayers and Parties

Although we are a secular group, we are after all celebrating the birthday of a Saint...and this is New Orleans, a largely Catholic town with many a girl named after Joan herself! So we can't help but pray while we party for Joan's 599th birthday. We eat king cake "as" her birthday cake, handle out candles for the procession "as" her birthday candles...and in exchange, we pray to her asking that our New Year be blessed by her! (We have also prayed to her for assistance with the Superbowl and an end to the oil spill...) While she is not technically the patron saint of New Orleans (that would be Our Lady of Prompt Succor, which is hard to beat) many citizens consider her to be so.

Here is a prayer composed by yours truly. You'll see it on prayer cards designed by the local design firm Deep Fried Advertising, with an image of Joan on her statue in bright shades of yellow, red, and blue. Look for these to be handed out by the krewe on Twelfth Night.



On this day of birth for Joan of Arc,
the Maid of Orléans, we celebrate the
rebirth of New Orleans.

We walk on this night to reflect on the
past year and rejuvenate for the New
Year. We honor all those who have fallen
by the sword, fire, and flood.
We burn
candles to brighen this Twelfth Night,
lighting the way for Mardi Gras season.

Joan of Arc, Saint, Warrior, Leader, and
Honorary Maid of New Orleans, we
thank you for shining your golden light
on us and ask you to bless New Orleans
in 2011, on this, the anniversary of the
599th year of your birth.

January 6, 2011
St Joan of Arc Parade-New Orleans
Joan of Arc January 6, 1412-May 31, 1431

MEDIA CONTACT: Amy Kirk Duvoisin, The Joan of Arc Project (504) 251-5046 stjoankrewe@yahoo.com. To stay in touch with us “like” JOAN OF ARC PROJECT on Facebook.


CELEBRATE JOAN OF ARC’S 599TH BIRTHDAY WITH US ON TWELFTH NIGHT!
Third annual joan of arc parade rolls Thursday January 6 at 6 p.m.
Starts at Bienville statue at conti and Decatur--Ends at joan of arc statue at st phillip and Decatur--Main procession down chartres, across Jackson square
Parade highlights include:
• 599 candles and matchbooks will be handed out to parade goers to join in the procession
• Handmade throws include: 16 decorated wooden swords given out by our Maid of Honor (student Joan of Arc Mallory Young, from St. Martin’s Episcopal School); surprises from saintsforsinners.com (makers of the gorgeous hand-decorated boxes containing handpainted Joan of Arc medallions given to 100 lucky folks last year); Saints magnets handmade by Sister Rita of The Poor Clare Monastery; handmade wooden crosses, locally designed prayer cards, and other unique limited handcrafted items.
• Special guests this year include: Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer riding as “Joanie on the Pony” in a golden costume; the new director of Alliance Francaise New Orleans, Lilian Cadet, walking as our krewe King
• Wolgemut will lead the parade with pipes and drums playing their “medieval music for modern minds”.
• Our hotel sponsor The Bienville House is generously donating meeting space for our pre-and post-parade gatherings as well as champagne glasses with the krewe insignia (Joan’s coat of arms).
• Gambino’s Bakery has donated king cakes for us to share post-parade at the Joan of Arc statue, in honor of Joan’s success in ensuring the coronation of her King and in honor of Twelfth Night!
• Remember the Benedictine monks last year handing out holy water? They’re coming back…all the way from Madison, Wisconsin! They are part of Lake Edge United Church of Christ’s annual volunteer trip to New Orleans (a trip they’ve been making since Katrina) which now includes a group of 8-10 of them in the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc.
• Fire artist Monica Ferroe performs before we roll!
• KIDsmART students will participate in the procession as stiltwalkers.
• Pierre Pichon & Gypsy Swing Trio will play for the krewe post-parade party at The Bienville House Hotel (krewe members only).
• Our original warrior Joan of Arc, Caye Mitchell, will once again be clad in armor and will be donating horses for the parade c/o her company “Equine by Design”
• Pegasus Carriage Company joins us for the first time.
• New! Decatur Street will be closed at St. Phillip at the parade’s end to allow for crowds to enjoy the post-parade party at the statue and the Market Café.
BYOKC (BRING YOUR OWN KING CAKE):
…As always the public is welcome and encouraged to bring gifts and treats to share at the statue, especially King cake! Remember it’s a birthday party for Joan—AND the beginning of Mardi Gras! We have twelve king cakes donated by Gambino’s but they’ll go fast once the King and Joan cut the cake. So in the spirit of our first year when it was come one, come all…bring stuff for everyone--and for Joan!