NEW ORLEANS — The first parade in New Orleans in 19 months came with a lot of spooktacular excitement.
The screams, the dancing, the candy catching, it all came back as if the Krewe of Boo parade never left.
"We need this right now, we need a good night to have a fun time," said Brian Kern, Krewe of Boo organizer and captain.
The parade hasn't happened since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday, there was plenty of fun to be had, courtesy of Chief of Spooks, Brian Kern.
"It's been a scramble, a mad scramble, but it's now here. I'm happy, I'm relieved it's finally here," said Kern.
Just a few weeks ago, Mayor Cantrell gave Kern the go-ahead to put this spooktacular extravaganza back on the streets of New Orleans.
On Saturday, the streets were lined with costumed parade attendees eager for some Halloween fun.
"Just waiting on our moment and we took it," Shannon Shirley said.
Shirley has been taking her sons to the Krewe of Boo parade for years and she wasn't alone in saying it feels so good to be back!
"This was one of our first parades two years ago when we moved here and we are so excited to be back," said Kimberly Aranda, who attended the parade with her three young children.
"It feels like home again," Shirley said.
The ghouls and goblins were out, the band was revved up, and the dancers were shaking and moving.
"It feels really good walking through the crowd. I felt a lot of really positive energy," said Beverly House, PussyFooters dancer.
Though there wasn't a lot of mask-wearing going on, people in the crowd acted like good neighbors in hopes of keeping COVID numbers low.
"It feels pretty safe. It's outdoors everyone is spaced out so we're excited to have some fun," said Aranda.
"We've checked everybody and everybody riding in the parade is compliant," Kern said.
With 13 floats, 400 riders, and Mannie Fresh as the grand marshal, it certainly was a night to remember.
"People in New Orleans deserve this, we've been through a lot," Kern said.
Krewe of Boo is a test run for Mardi Gras 2022 and so far so good.
Mayor Cantrell said before the parade that we're on track for Mardi Gras 2022 but we won't know for sure for another couple of weeks.