Krewe of Endymion
The biggest parade of Carnival, and the only major one on its own Mid-City route, finishing inside the Superdome.
- Usual slot
- Saturday before Mardi Gras, late afternoon into night
- Usual start
- about 4:15 p.m. (check the year's schedule)
- Route
- Mid-City (City Park area, Orleans Avenue), Canal Street, ending inside the Superdome
- Founded
- 1966; first parade 1967
- Signature throws
- Huge volumes of beads and krewe throws ("Throw until it hurts")
- Official site
- endymion.org
History
Endymion was founded in 1966 and first paraded on 4 February 1967 in Gentilly, near the Fair Grounds. It grew into one of the three 'super krewes', with enormous multi-section floats and celebrity grand marshals.
Its route runs through Mid-City and down Canal Street, the only parade inside the city limits that does not use the Uptown St. Charles route. Since 1981 it has usually ended at the Endymion Extravaganza, a party held inside the Superdome where the floats roll onto the field.
2026 was the krewe's 60th anniversary.
Mid-City crowds camp out along Orleans Avenue and Canal from the morning. Endymion often finishes after midnight.
If the usual slot holds Usual pattern, not announced
Usual slot: Saturday before Mardi Gras, late afternoon into night. Tied to Fat Tuesday, that slot gives these dates. They are projections, not a schedule: confirm on the krewe's site or the city's Mardi Gras page before you travel.
| Carnival | Usual-slot date | Fat Tuesday |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sat 14 Feb | Tue 17 Feb |
| 2027 | Sat 6 Feb | Tue 9 Feb |
| 2028 | Sat 26 Feb | Tue 29 Feb |
| 2029 | Sat 10 Feb | Tue 13 Feb |
| 2030 | Sat 2 Mar | Tue 5 Mar |
| 2031 | Sat 22 Feb | Tue 25 Feb |
| 2032 | Sat 7 Feb | Tue 10 Feb |
| 2033 | Sat 26 Feb | Tue 1 Mar |
| 2034 | Sat 18 Feb | Tue 21 Feb |
| 2035 | Sat 3 Feb | Tue 6 Feb |
Recent parades: 2025: 1 Mar 2025; 2026: 14 Feb 2026 (published city schedules). Both fell exactly on the usual slot.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krewe_of_Endymion (founding; first parade; route; Extravaganza; checked 2026-10-26)
History written for this site from the sources above. Parade dates for 2025 and 2026 from published city schedules.