Krewe of Proteus

The Krewe of Proteus (KoP) is a New Orleans Carnival Krewe founded in 1882, the oldest continuously parading Old Line Krewe.

History and formation
The Krewe of Proteus is the longest riding Old Line Night Parade Krewe in New Orleans Carnival after the Mistick Krewe and the Knights of Momus, stopped parading in 1992. The parade of the krewe of Proteus traditionally travels an Uptown or St. Charles route ending on Canal Street. Parade floats still use original chassis from the early 1880s. Proteus is an offshoot of Mistick Krewe, and Knights of Momus - formed because the Mistick Krewe's waiting list was too long. Supposedly the Captain of the Mistick Krewe made the suggestion to form Proteus, as it was taking even too long for younger men of Comus families to get into Knights of Momus.

In 1991 the New Orleans City Council, led by Democrat Dorothy Mae Taylor, passed an ordinance that required social organizations, including Mardi Gras Krewes, to certify publicly that they did not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation, in order to obtain parade permits and other public licensure. The Proteus organization (along with Momus and Comus, other 19th-century Krewes) withdrew from parading, rather than racially integrating. Two federal courts later decided that the ordinance was an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment rights of free association and an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy of the groups subject to the ordinance. Proteus returned to parading in 2000.

Parade
Krewe of Proteus parades on the evening of Lundi Gras prior to the Krewe of Orpheus. The parade follows the uptown route for parades starting at Napoleon Avenue and Magazine Street; proceed north to St. Charles; proceed east on St. Charles to Lee Circle continuing on St. Charles to Canal Street. Krewe of Proteus utilize flambeaux to light the parade route.

Parade themes
The Krewe of Proteus keep the season parade and ball theme secret until Lundi Gras. • 2024 Commedia dell Arte

• 2023 Kālevālā Lore of Finland

• 2022 Divine Tricksters

• 2021 No Parade due to COVID-19

• 2020 Feasts and Libations

• 2019 Travels and Treasures of the Silk Road

• 2018 Les Grâces des dieux pour la Nouvelle-Orleans

• 2017 Der Ring Des Nibelungen

• 2016 The Hindu Heavens

• 2015 Nature of the Beasts

• 2014 Ancient Elements of Alchemy

• 2013 The Unseen New Orleans Carnival

• 2012 Mythologica Aquatica

• 2011 The Prophetic Old Man of the Sea

• 2010 The Mythology of Astrology

• 2009 Mabinogion: The Romance of Wales

• 2008 Realms of Enchantment

• 2007 Legends and Lore of the Deep

• 2006 Proteus Through the Years

• 2005 Fables Famous and Familiar

• 1999 No Parade

• 1998 No Parade

• 1997 No Parade

• 1996 No Parade

• 1995 No Parade

• 1994 No Parade

• 1993 No Parade

• 1988 Famous Firsts

• 1986 Notable Notes from New Orleans

• 1984 The Sun King

• 1983 Valentine Voyages

• 1982 Water Courses of the Continents

• 1981 Centennial Anniversary

• 1978 Creatures and Curious Cliches

• 1977 World in Our Garden

• 1967 Treasures of the Earth and Sea

• 1936 Don Quixote de la Mancha

• 1935 Irish Fairy Tales

• 1932 American Poet Lore

• 1929 The Adventures of Hajji Baba

• 1927 Famous Heroes and Heroines of History and Legend

• 1926 The Fair God

• 1925 Tales and Romance of Old Japan

• 1924 Netar-Tua

• 1923 Myths and Legends of North American Indians

• 1922 The Romance of the Rose

• 1907 The Queen of Serpents

• 1905 The Rubiyat

• 1904 The Alphabet

• 1903 Cleopatra

• 1902 Flora's Feast

• 1901 Al-Kyris the Magnificent

• 1900 Tales of Childhood

• 1899 E. Pluribus Unum

• 1898 A Trip to Wonderland

• 1897 Orlando Furioso

• 1896 Dumb Society

• 1895 Asgard and the Gods

• 1894 Sháh Námeh, The Epic of the Kings

• 1893 Kalevala

• 1892 A Dream of the Vegetable Kingdom

• 1891 Tales of the Genii

• 1889 The Hindoo Heavens

• 1888 Legends of the Middle Ages

• 1887 Andersen's Fairy Tales

• 1886 Visions of Other Worlds

• 1885 Myths and Worships of China

• 1884 The Aeneid

• 1882 Ancient Egyptian Mythology