The Krewe of Bacchus parade was founded in 1968 by a handful of New
Orleans business leaders whose dream was to revitalize Carnival.
However, the seeds of the Krewe of Bacchus were actually sown two
decades before the present carnival organization was founded.
The original
Krewe of Bacchus was the brainchild of Owen Edward Brennan, Sr., a true
visionary. Brennan, owner of the Absinthe House, a famous bar on
Bourbon Street, and later founder of Brennan’s Restaurant
on Royal Street, was also the father of the first Captain of Bacchus,
Owen "Pip" Brennan, Jr.
In the late 1940’s, Brennan
realized that a large segment of his clientele was seasonally unhappy
– namely tourists to the Mardi Gras. At that time, Carnival balls at
Mardi Gras were predominately closed to anyone outside of New Orleans’
society circles.
So, In 1949, Brennan decided to
spend an enormous amount of money, buck the entrenched New Orleans
Society, and revolutionize the Mardi Gras. He did so by creating a brand
new Krewe, called the Krewe of Bacchus, wide open to tourists.
Brennan staged two Bacchus
Carnival balls, one in 1949 and the other in 1950 before his death in
1955. Regrettably, he did not live to see his idea develop into a new
and lasting form.
Fast forward to 1968. For years,
Carnival in New Orleans had been losing its luster slowly but surely.
There was a lot of talk around town about what should be done to give a
spark to the celebration.
Early in 1968, Owen
"Pip" Brennan, Jr., son of the late Brennan, held a meeting at
Brennan’s Restaurant to address this problem. What emerged was a
rebirth of the vision his father conceived almost 20 years earlier: The
Krewe of Bacchus.
It was decided that the Krewe of
Bacchus would break with Carnival tradition by staging a Sunday night
parade that would be the highlight of the Carnival season. Its floats
would be bigger and more spectacular than anything previously seen in
Carnival. Furthermore, Bacchus decided to have a national celebrity king
lead its parade, breaking ranks with 113 years of Carnival tradition.
On Sunday, February 16, 1969, the
Krewe of Bacchus staged its first Mardi Gras parade. The theme was
"The Best Things In Life", and the procession was led by
celebrity king Danny Kaye. The 250 member, 15 float entourage took to
the streets of New Orleans showering thousands of spectators with over a
million strings of beads and 300,000 doubloons. The new parade was a
smashing success.
The Krewe of Bacchus had left a
lasting mark on the City of New Orleans and had proven to be the boost
that the Carnival season so desperately needed.
Now, with more than 1,200 members
and 33 animated
super-floats, the Krewe of Bacchus is revered as one of the most
spectacular Krewes in Carnival history.
Pip Brennan still serves as
Captain of The Krewe of Bacchus; overseeing each detail with great pride
and meticulous perfection. He is now joined by his three sons,
Owen Brennan, III, Clark Brennan, and Blake Brennan, all of whom serve on the Krewe's Board of
Directors. Owen, III also serves as the Krewe's Executive
Director. Like their grandfather and father, this third
generation of the Brennan family shares the same love of Mardi Gras and
New Orleans.
