It’s been almost 20 years since the Krewe of Freret last rode through the neighborhood. But thanks to a fledgling group of young men taking cues from the Uptown corridor's commercial revitalization, a new parade may once again roll behind a banner baring that name. 

Freret used to assemble outside the old Loyola fieldhouse, so it’s perhaps fitting that seven young Tulane and Loyola grads are the ones seeking to mobilize the spirit of the revitalized neighborhood.  While at this point the new KoF is just a party and a prayer, they went from blank slate to a full roster in just over two months, and they're hoping the fast growth will lead their banner to the streets again.

Greg Rhoades, a local photographer and president of the krewe, says the majority of the new members are in their 20’s and 30’s and have some kind of a tie with Loyola or Tulane and their storied watering holes, and others are neighborhood business owners. Still others “represent the businesses in some fashion, while others have plans laid out for new businesses along the street in 2012.  Professions range from local musicians to large-scale festival founders, from law students to law partners, and from firefighters to fire starters,” Rhoades said.

Being a young professional doesn’t seem to matter as much as having a severe enthusiasm for Mardi Gras and a desire to be on the other side of the curb without signing up for entry-level positions in larger, traditional krewes.

“It's not that we felt Mardi Gras was lacking necessarily, because how the heck could you say that with a straight face? It's that we felt under our organization and leadership, that we could provide an alternative, an addition.  By keeping dues as low as possible and fun [and] riding as the main goal, we knew there was a market, but we didn't know how big,” Rhodes says. 

While it may seem obvious in hindsight that there’s a substantial pool of people willing to bet a couple hundred bucks now that they’d be in on the ground floor and riding in their own parade within a few years, the founders weren’t quite ready for the speed with which their krewe grew.  They had to re-negotiate their contract for their inaugural black-tie ball to handle the expansion, and were quickly introduced to the mountain of paperwork and flurry of communication that goes into keeping a parade group afloat.

The original Krewe of Freret was organized by local businessmen in the fifties, but began to wane by the early nineties and eventually disbanded in 1994.  They paraded down Freret and had their den on the street, two traditions the new founders hope to bring back. The upstart group was able to pick up the original Krewe’s LLC from the state, and a few descendants of the old Krewe have signed on as well. 

However, this won’t be a straight reboot of an old Krewe.  The new KoF will incorporate satire and irreverence, which puts them in lineage with another krewe that was born out of the Freret/University area, Tucks.  They also hope to have a custom, handmade throw that becomes as prized an icon as the Tucks plunger or a Muses shoe.  For now, fans will have to settle for merch printed with the krewe’s logo.

“Many have expressed joy that we are semi-reviving an old Krewe, and it's great to hear them regale us with stories of their youth as the KoF passed by.  But a few act like we stole something that sat dormant for over twenty years and treat us as bandits, so we have public perception to finesse right out of the gate,” Rhoades says.

To that end the krewe hopes to take a new approach to the “social aid” aspect of their club by keeping their philanthropic arm working throughout the year.  The goal is to keep members in contact even after Ash Wednesday through sporting events and general meetings. 

“We have already fielded a successful dodgeball team and next up is kickball, followed by a possible bowling tournament,” Rhoades said.  From there they hope to utilize the krewe as a team with different skill sets to organize charity events as well as promote the high school bands and float builders who will eventually be part of their parade.  

The krewe's inaugural ball is sold out and membership is closed for now. But the public can get a look at this new krewe outside its natural habitat this Saturday. The KoF will have a public coronation of their first king and queen on the neutral ground of Elysian Fields at Royal during the Krewe du Vieux parade.