Thank you to these patient boys for carrying our new banner. They had to deal with me occasionally grabbing it and saying, "hold it--stop!" or "move over a little...yes, there, there!"..or "slooow down!" A few times, they were like, "yah, we got it. we got it!" I think of Joan leading men into battle..."yeah, we got it..we got it, miss hyper chick!"
I keep getting choked up when I see these photos of Monsignor blessing our sword. It really feels like a miracle to me. That's Maid 2011 Mallory Young holding it. In the background, Stephen Swain, who coordinated this moment..thank you Stephen!!! We hope we can do this EVERY YEAR! I will try not to request it in all caps when I write you next year! But...I'm so excited!
Thanks to krewe member Rafael Monzon, we had a "real" Mardi Gras crown and septre for our Maid 2012 Aggie Bell to crown our King 2012 Damien Regnard. In the background are banners of Joan's words made by krewe member Amanda Helm, of "that Wisconsin monk group" fame!
A classic New Orleans image...krewe member Roberta LeGrand handing our most simple and sacred signature items, numbered candles and prayer cards, to secondline dancer and leader of Skinz and Bonez group, Darryl Young...very very cool. We should get him involved somehow next year...hmmm!
Thank you to every single person near and far who made this 600th birthday so very special. We are still learning with every parade...we are a procession and spectacle perhaps more than a parade and stuff...yet...as the crowds grow and more families come, we want to create more "stuff" to give out..and we want to grow the spectacle more, with more angels and birthday themed elements, more Joans, more music, more knights and soldiers, more fire dancers (probably without real fire..think..baton twirlers w/ ribbons rather than flames!)...stay tuned...we will welcome new krewe members in May when we gather again for our annual Salon de Jeanne conference. It's heartening to get so many emails about an interest in membership! We have struck a chord...and look forward to continuing to create harmonies between art, history, religion, and all things New Orleans! Please send me notes on your ideas, suggestions, insights, reactions, reflections! stjoankrewe@yahoo.com. Thanks for the love!
