Louisiana’s poet laureate is full of Mardi Gras memories. Twenty years ago Brenda Marie Osbey waited for hours outside Mardi Gras Indian Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana’s house in New Orleans. She wanted to be one of the first people in her neighborhood to see his colorful Carnival regalia. Osbey’s neighbors stood near the house and talked over steaming cups of coffee and plates of home-cooked food about last year’s suit until Montana stepped outside. “He’s really a vision,” Osbey said. “He’s angelic but majestic. He’s kind of like a warrior angel standing there.” Osbey, professional in residence at the University, plans to revisit Mardi Gras memories and paint New Orleans purple, green and gold tonight. The Krewe of Muses chose Osbey as their honorary muse for tonight’s Mardi Gras parade. The parade will roll at 7:30 p.m. on the traditional New Orleans parade route. The Krewe of Muses is an all-female group with 668 members riding on the floats. The krewe’s members select a different style of shoe each year as a symbol of their parade. This year’s shoe is a rain boot. Osbey will represent Erato, Greek muse of love poetry. The krewe picks a muse every year to preside over the parade. “We try to pick somebody that exemplifies the attributes of that muse,” said Kathy Conklin, the co-chairwoman of the krewe’s community involvement committee. Osbey said she thought someone was playing a joke on her when she heard that she was named the honorary muse of the parade. “I’ve never been in a parade, and I have no idea what I’m doing,” she said. “I was born and raised in New Orleans, and I’ve never been in a parade.” Osbey said she likes the Krewe of Muses because it is committed to the tradition of lampooning, donates to local charities and cuts across racial and class lines. “I think that if I’m going to be part of a carnival group, this is the group I want to be in,” she said. Conklin said the krewe is traditionally committed to satire and does not reveal the parade’s theme until the night it rolls. “I’m sworn to secrecy,” Osbey said. For Osbey, Mardi Gras is about celebrating New Orleans culture. She said some people have a misunderstanding about the holiday because the media usually limits themselves to the party scene on Bourbon Street. It has been several years since Osbey has celebrated Mardi Gras New Orleans style. Osbey is ready to be part of another Mardi Gras memory, and she is anticipating seeing the Mardi Gras Indians this year. She said Darryl Montana, Montana’s son, took over the Yellow Pocahontas tribe after his father died in 2005.
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]
N.O. parade gives Osbey honor
February 15, 2007