FAQ'S

Everything you need to know about the Parade, Joining the Krewe, Membership, And more!

What is a Krewe? How long is a membership?

A krewe is a social organization that bands together for Carnival season (and beyond) to put on a parade and/or a ball each year.  Our particular Krewe was formed in 2011 with our first annual ball and we first hit the streets during Mardi Gras 2013.  Our parade always rides the first Saturday of the main two weeks of parades.  Krewe of Freret prides ourselves on our versatile member base including people who are male, female, young, old, native and transplant. Our membership runs from Fat Tuesday to Fat Tuesday.

 

Membership starts at $695 when we first open enrollment to the public and will increase later in the season. In order to receive the early bird rate, be sure to sign-up and pay your dues before the deadline. And remember, the earlier you sign up/pay your dues, the earlier you’ll have access to all private events and information throughout the year.  We also offer monthly payment plans for memberships. 

Membership includes your riding spot, 10 masks to decorate as signature throws, a harness, a riding mask and access to Krewe events throughout the year. It also includes a pre-party on parade day and one General Admission ticket to the thrilling Shorty Gras concert after the parade, among a ton of other awesome perks!

We require each member to purchase at least one Krewe of Freret branded throw package directly from the Krewe in addition to (a separate purchase from) their membership. We do this so that we can continue to enhance our brand awareness throughout the city, so that there is more brand consistency coming from our parade, and so that by ordering a throw package for every single Krewe member, we can provide our members with the best available throws at the best available prices. Our throw packages include many hand crafted items that revelers enjoy catching and support local businesses. There are specialty items you can’t get anywhere else! Of course, members are still permitted to purchase other non-branded throws from outside vendors to add to their stockpile for parade day, but we feel it is important that every member of our organization has a solid base of items to throw that are branded with our official logo.

Membership is non-refundable. Producing a parade for Mardi Gras begins almost an entire year before the actual parade, and our organization pays a number of fees year-round in order to operate- float builders and artists, costume makers, permits from the city, deposits on venues, administrative fees (we could go on and on); therefore, we’re unable to refund any money already spent throughout the year as it progresses toward parade day.

 

We ride on the historic Uptown route! The parade begins as your float turns the corner of Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas. We roll down St. Charles Avenue all the way until we hit Canal Street. Check out the map on our website for a more detailed route!

 

Absolutely! The organization is co-ed and we encourage you to sign up whomever you like as a member to ride with you: family, friends, significant other, co worker, etc. We always do our best to accommodate our riders so their groups can ride in close proximity with each other. Please place any requests for who you want to ride with upon purchasing your membership!

👉👉👉Please note: There are age restrictions and special guidelines on floats for youth so please inquire prior to purchasing a membership for a minor.

Contact us or watch the video above for more answers to some Frequently Asked Questions.

If you’d like, the best way to reach us is to send us an email at [email protected].

We respond to every email personally, however, everyone running the organization is a volunteer so it may take a couple of days to respond. Please be patient with us if you don’t receive an immediate reply. Thank you!