For more than 75 years, Alla has brought family fun to Carnival on the west bank, normally on the first Sunday of the parade calendar. But this year, because of the Super Bowl shuffle, the krewe will move its parade date to Saturday, February 2. Alla, which takes its name from the abbreviation for the neighborhood in which it was founded (Algiers, Louisiana), was led for many years by captain Blaine “Mr. Mardi Gras” Kern. This year’s Maharajah, Bill Landry Jr., has a long history with the krewe, first building floats with Kern’s father, Roy Kern, for the krewes of Mid-City and Carrollton, as a young teenager.
Founded in 1932, the all-male krewe of Alla boasts more than 25 floats, including several familiar favorites: the Coon-Ass, Alla Gator, and the Elk Gator. A special pink float will raise awareness of breast cancer. A bit of trivia: the Golden Gryphon Society is the formal name of the group behind Alla.
