ABOUT
Twelfth Night is the traditional kick off of Carnival season, making these parades the first we enjoy of the year's festivities. In the spirit and tradition of multiple Mardi Gras krewes reveling on the same night, the Funky Uptown Krewe traditionally follows the original Heralds of Carnival, the Phunny Phorty Phellows, on the St. Charles streetcar line.
The Krewe’s signature throws include hand-decorated, bedazzled vinyl records, beads, toys, logo cups and koozies!Funky Uptown Krewe’s goal is to encourage more revelers to flock to the St. Charles streetcar line on Twelfth Night and provide some small boost to local businesses. The Krewe is 100% volunteer-run and more than 90% of every dollar spent by the Krewe is spent locally! The Krewe members also volunteer with various charities throughout the year, such as Arc GNO, New Orleans Habitat for Humanity and NOLA Trash Mob.
HISTORY
In 2021 things were different! Some new ideas about celebrating Mardi Gras 2021 have emerged- even though our annual street car ride was cancelled, our members planned a unique and interactive scavenger hunt for our coveted hand-painted record throws. The first clues on where to find records along the St. Charles Ave street car line were sent out on social media on Jan. 6 and the game was on! We thank everyone who came out to hunt for records to safely celebrate with us that night- it was very popular and we were working with a limited krewe to make a limited number of records. We are hoping to keep this new tradition going when we have all our members help make it even better! Stay tuned!
Funky Uptown Krewe’s 2019 and 2020 rides both featured the stylings of local legend DJ Mannie Fresh, with Mannie performing a full DJ set on the St. Charles streetcar! The Krewe’s 2020 pre-party at Bouree in the Carrollton neighborhood featured the Kings of Brass playing a special Mardi Gras set.
