Twelfth Night in St. Tammany Parish Begins Mardi Gras
A krewe that models itself after the New Orleans Mardi Gras krewe of Phunny Phorty Phellows was organized on the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain in Covington, Louisiana during 2012. This new krewe calls itself the St. John Fools of Misrule and is a
St. John Fools of Misrule march through the streets of Covington in 2013. (Photo by Tana R.H. Stevenson)
marching club that specifically launches Mardi Gras in St. Tammany Parish the same day as 12th Night in New Orleans.
Twelfth Night is normally the night that is the end of the Christmas season according to many denominations of Christianity, but the St. John Fools of Misrule celebrate the commencement of the Mardi Gras season the first Saturday after the Epiphany. Beginning with 75 members is 2012, the krewe of the St. John Fools features 220 members this year, which increased from 150 members last year, which are pretty good numbers for the 3-year-old krewe.
This year’s Twelfth Night parade will begin with the Feast of Fools at the Columbia Street Tap Room’s Seiler Bar in Covington at 4pm on January 11, 2014. The marching will begin at 6:30pm at the corner of Columbia and Lockwood Streets. The parade will wind through downtown Covington to the Covington Trailhead, the trailhead for the Tammany Trace in St. Tammany Parish. Then members of the krewe will return through the ox lot behind Buster’s Restaurant, Winos and Tacos, and the Columbia Street Rock N Blues, back to the Tap Room.
The Fools of Misrule ring cowbells to publicly announce the parade, which is a tradition taken from a men’s group in England. Costumes are required and Venetian, Medieval, and Renaissance themed outfits are encouraged. The reason why the krewe’s name is for the area of town in which this Twelfth Night group walks in order to celebrate the beginning of Mardi Gras. The streets used for the parade were a part of the original 1813 grid in Covington, Louisiana, which was called St. John. The krewe has an annual tradition of picking its royalty. Pieces of king cake are distributed to all attending members. A bean is embedded in a piece of cake, and the person who gets that piece of king cake gets to be lord of the “Lord of Fools.” Last year’s lord was Judge Reginald Badeaux of the 22nd Judicial District Court.
The Northshore has a strong showing of krewes for Mardi Gras, not as much or as many as New Orleans, but there are many weekends of celebrations for the entire family to enjoy in St. Tammany Parish.
