Stardate: -303890.9817351598
Saturday, February 9th, 2019
The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus returned for its ninth annual Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, February 9, 2019. The vast Nerd Horde once again took to the streets on its mission: “Saving the galaxy, one drunken nerd at a time” with the theme “Space Farce.”
Actor Brian O’Halloran, best known for his role of “Dante” in the movie Clerks, reigned over the parade as King Brian the First, Commander of the Space Farce, He Who Is Not Supposed to Be Here Today.
The parade featured a spectacular 8-foot, glittering flying saucer hovering over a miniature New Orleans cityscape. Additionally, the krewe reserved forty-two special throws to be given at random to spectators that granted them the ability to participate in a quest, the winner of which will be honored as royalty of the 2020 Chewbacchus parade.
Additionally, due to the retirement of the previous overlords, the Overlord Brooke Ethridge, (Padme Almandine) who served during the 2018 parade season, was joined by new Overlords Aryanna Gamble (Space Goddess Snackagawea) and Richard Riggs (Dr. Strangelover).
Parade Route
One major change for the 2019 parade was due to police safety concerns, the parade moved from its traditional date 10 days before Mardi Gras to two weeks earlier. Traditionally, Chewbacchus and ‘Tit Rəx, which had both rolled in Faubourg Marigny, were competing on that day for police with five Uptown parades, Pontchartrain, Choctaw, Freret, Sparta, and Pygmalion. This change shook up the entire Mardi Gras season, extending the revelry by two extra weeks and making Chewbacchus the only parade that marched on February 9.
Chewbacchanal
The 2019 Chewbacchanal was held at Generations Hall and featured Sexy Dex + The Fresh, Tristan Dufrene, Dead Music Capital Band, and the Browncoat Brass Band.