NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans will host a parade for the late Betty White the week she was set to turn 100. It's set for January 16, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. in the French Quarter.
The route will begin at Bourbon Street and Canal Street, then go down to St. Ann and turn right to go to Jackson Square. The parade will be led by the Bourbon Street Brass Band.
The event is being held by Santa T. Claus and Carl Mack Presents, and will also serve as a fundraiser for animal rescues.
Originally the event was set for January 17th, which was White's birthday, but was rescheduled based off feedback from the community about the event happening on Martin Luther King Day. Organizers say they did not intend to offend anyone or seem insensitive when choosing the date, so they're having it the day before. It's also been changed from a second line parade to "The Betty White Memorial and 100th Birthday Parade."
A GoFundMe page has been set up called Birthday Bucks for Betty to help defray the costs to host the parade including police escorts, permits, route cleanup detail, and proper signage. Organizers say they've already raised enough to cover the cost of the parade, so now every dollar donated will go to the Villalobos Rescue Center in New Orleans. Participants are invited to bring their pets, as well as a dog toy to donate, because of White's reputation on being an animal lover.
#bettywhiteschallenge has been trending on social media and is essentially a challenge to donate to any animal shelter in White's name leading up to January 17th.
In the days immediately following her death, we learned about her previously unknown generosity shown to the Audubon Aquarium shortly after Hurricane Katrina. According to a spokesperson, White paid for a private plane to relocate the aquarium's otters and penguins to the Monterey Bay Aquarium after Hurricane Katrina. Read more here: Betty White paid to evacuate animals from Audubon Aquarium after Katrina
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