The controversial Mystic Krewe of Nyx was booted off the Mardi Gras parade schedule on Thursday when the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to strike it from the city's list of officially permitted processions.
The council cited violations of the city's Mardi Gras ordinance as it axed the all-women's parade, which has rolled the Wednesday before Mardi Gras since 2012.
The amendment now goes to Mayor LaToya Cantrell for her signature.
In April, City Councilman JP Morrell accused Nyx of parading without the required number of marching bands, and of advertising for membership via social media and on special throws that riders were told to toss during the parade.
Advertising for membership “in a public manner for members” is prohibited in the part of the code meant to prevent the commercialization of Carnival.
As he prepared to call for the vote that would end the parade, Morrell emphasized that despite an accusation by Nyx's lawyer, the decision was not politically motivated. Nyx, he said, had simply not staged a parade whose quality justified the city's expense in providing services.
Nyx attorney and spokesperson Doug Sunseri appealed to the council on Thursday to postpone the vote that denied Nyx a permit. He said the krewe had “brokered a deal” in which founder and captain Julie Lea would step down by next week, replaced by new leadership that could work to restore the krewe.
Carnival authority Arthur Hardy said the City Council’s removal of the Nyx parade may be a first. Although krewes occasionally withdraw from parading for various reasons, Hardy said he was unaware of a parade being denied a permit for violations of the Mardi Gras ordinance.
The Mystic Krewe of Nyx parades on the Uptown route in New Orleans, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
The rise and fall of Nyx was swift and dramatic. In 2011, the city council voted to allow a new, all-female parade to join the official lineup on the Wednesday night before Mardi Gras, following the Druids parade. The first Nyx procession rolled during Carnival 2012, with 20 floats and 534 riders.
The new krewe, dedicated to the Greek goddess of the night, swiftly gained momentum, growing year after year until it presented one of the largest annual parades in all of Carnival. By 2020, Nyx was rolling with 3,400 riders aboard more than 40 multi-segmented floats. That parade was tragically cut short when a spectator named Geraldine Carmouche was caught between the units of a two-part float and killed.
Later in 2020, the flourishing krewe imploded, when krewe captain Julie Lea posted the slogan “All Lives Matter” on a Nyx social media account. To many members of the krewe, the message seemed to be dismissive of the Black Lives Matter movement that was sweeping the country after the murder of George Floyd.
Lea said she was unaware of the divisive meaning of her post and asked forgiveness, but the damage was done. A mass resignation of members ensued. Lawsuits about float contracts, allegations of transphobia and membership fee scandals also surfaced as the krewe deflated.
After the 2024 Carnival season, the City Council created the Carnival Legislative Advisory Committee, in part to reduce the demands on the New Orleans Police Department and other city services. One route to that goal was to reduce the number of parades.
Most observers agreed that in 2024, the once-popular Nyx parade was lightly attended. Its membership may now number no more than 250.
The Mystic Krewe of Nyx parades on the Uptown route in New Orleans, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune, NOLA.com)
During the Carnival Legislative Advisory Committee meeting earlier this week, Morrell suggested that if Nyx were eliminated from the schedule, that day might be scratched from the parade calendar, thereby taking some pressure off of overstretched city services.
But as of now, the Druids parade, which rolls on the same night as Nyx, remains on the schedule.