NEW ORLEANS — For more than 50 years, the Krewe of Bacchus has been about pushing the envelope when it comes to Carnival. Last year, the krewe debuted two new, state-of-the-art signature floats: the Bacchaneer pirate ship and a new float for King Kong and family.
This year, the changes are a bit more subtle, but still spectacular. One is the first float you see in every Bacchus parade: the king's float, a fixture in Bacchus since 1969.
“It's been touched up through the years but we are finally taking the Bacchus figure off and putting on a new Bacchus on it, with all the latest technology in animation,” said Clark Brennan, the Bacchus captain.
The new float, which was designed and built by Kern Studios, isn’t dramatically different from the king’s float which debuted in the 1969 parade but has been greatly enhanced.
“It is really a remake of the original version that was built 50 years ago,” said Barry Kern, president and CEO of Kern Studios. “The animated figure is all audio animatronic with air pistons that move it. It's designed to run the whole parade without having to have somebody inside of it pulling on it to animate it. In the old days it was Boy Scouts inside of the floats pulling levers and ropes to make it all work. This is much different.”
Phots of new Bacchus king's float & officers float
The Bacchus king’s float (which technically shouldn’t use the word “king” since Bacchus is a god) earns a big spot in Carnival history since it's carried some of the biggest names in entertainment through the streets. That began with the first Bacchus, actor and comedian Danny Kaye, and continues through a long list of celebrity kings. Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Perry Como, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Will Ferrell, Harry Connick Jr., Anthony Mackie and last year’s Bacchus, J.K. Simmons – all have ridden on this float.
“When you really sit back and look at the last 50 kings we’ve had, it's amazing,” said Brennan, whose father, Owen “Pip” Brennan Jr. co-founded the krewe 51 years ago.
“A lot of incredible kings have ridden on that float and it's recognizable to everybody in New Orleans,” said Kern, whose father, Blaine Kern Sr., was instrumental in the founding of the super-krewe as well. “Frankly that’s why we kept that same imagery. It’s the same image, just a renewed version with audio animatronics.”
Following the king's float, a new Bacchus officers' float will also make its debut this year. It features a giant, smiling wine god, an animated figure that is sure to turn heads along the route. The figures and images on the sides of the float have also been touched up.
“We went back to a Bacchanalian feast with (images of) Bacchus, grapes, wine, women, great times,” Brennan said of the side of the float.
The giant animated Bacchus figure holds a golden cup that will allow celebrities or special guests to ride at the front of the float.
And there'll be lots of famous figures on floats this year, though some will be in papier mache or fiberglass form, since the Bacchus parade theme is "Starring Louisiana." It highlights films and TV shows set or filmed in Louisiana.
“You've got (floats depicting) ‘Streetcar Named Desire,’ ‘Green Lantern,’ ‘Live and Let Die,’” Brennan explained. “I think lots of people will see floats and say, ‘Man, I saw that movie. I didn’t know it was made here!’ so that's great,” Brennan said.
Other floats will highlight “King Creole,” “Easy Rider,” “American Horror Story,” “Treme,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” "JFK," "Jezebel," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and "The Princess and the Frog,” just to name a few.
Jensen Ackles, actor, director and star of the horror fantasy series “Supernatural,” will reign as Bacchus LI. Ackles, 40, stars as Dean Winchester in the "Supernatural" series on the CW network, which is currently in its 14th season.
Bacchus was founded in 1968 by restaurateur Owen "Pip" Brennan, Jr. and is now celebrated as one of the most important and popular krewes in Carnival history. The parade, which started out with just 250 members, has now grown to more than 1,600 members. Its first parade rolled in 1969.
Bacchus is once again partnering with WWL-TV for exclusive coverage of the parade from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center where the Bacchus Rendezvous is held each year. The parade will air March 3 at 10 p.m. on Channel 4, WWLTV.com, WWL-TV's mobile app and Facebook page.
