The MisTick krewe of coMus is widely crediTed wiTh

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The Mistick Krewe of comus is widely credited with saving mardi gras in
S
S
Since 1837
1880
New Orleans. The first modern Carnival organization, formed in 1857, turned
what had become a sometimes violent street bash into a sophisticated celebration with a themed parade culminating in a grand ball. Comus hasn’t paraded
since 1991, but its royal court still meets the royalty from Rex on Fat Tuesday
to put an exclamation point on the city’s best known cultural tradition.
nighttime spectacle:
Comus rolls along St.
Charles Street near
Poydras in 1867.
From its beginning,
the krewe paraded on
Mardi Gras night, using torches that eventually became known as
flambeaux.
canceled: On the eve of the
Union occupation of New
Orleans in 1862, Comus decided not to parade. When
the krewe returned to the
streets in 1866, its theme
was “The Past, the Present
and the Future.”
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coveted invitation:
carnival conclusion: Comus arrives at City Hall, now known as Gallier
Hall, to greet city officials in 1930.
“The floats were on old wood chassis; they had a
marvelous sway and shimmy to them. Carnival is
not the same without it.” Henri Schindler, New Orleans
“Comus was a must-see to officially close off Mardi
Gras. After the parade, we’d sit on the curb while
the street sweepers and fire trucks went by.”
Marileen C. Maher , New Orleans
Many of the “best
known citizens”
of the city were on
the committee of
reception at the first
Comus ball in 1857.
Comus remains one
of the most prestigious Carnival
organizations.
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Cotton is king in
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End of an era: In 1991, Dorothy Mae Taylor, the first woman elected to the New Orleans City Council, sponsored an ordinance barring private clubs and krewes, some of them comprised
exclusively of white men, from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age or disability. Taylor was vilified by some as “the Grinch who stole Carnival,” but several krewes integrated their membership after the measure passed. Comus, Momus and Proteus quit parading, although Proteus eventually returned to the streets.