Krewe of Cork revelers celebrate wine, food, friends and fun

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) — One Mardi Gras tradition making a comeback in the French Quarter is the parade of the Krewe of Cork, a group of 400 revelers who have fun, eat, make friends and, most importantly: wine .

The krewe dates back to 2000, when a group of friends met at a restaurant for their monthly lunch.

“We just felt silly one day and said, ‘Oh, let’s go outside and throw our corks at people.’ So we did a little mini parade, 40 of us,” said Gillian Pierce, Royal Krewe Coordinator. “Over time we said ‘We have to call ourselves a Krewe, the Krewe of Cork.

For Mardi Gras, the coterie selects a place to meet, eat, and parade in the French Quarter. Afterwards, they celebrate the feast of the king and queen.

“21 years later, I’m still the king,” said King Patrick van Hoorebeck, a permanent krewe king. “They will never have an empty wine glass. The wine is always full. The glass is always full. If the glass is not full, we give them a ticket. They cannot parade next year.

What if your wine glass is empty once the show has started?

“We have people who serve wine during the parade, and they call them the wine police. They have a t-shirt, pour and pour wine police,” Hoorebeck said.

Like other parades, the Krewe of Cork was on hiatus last year due to the coronavirus.

But that couldn’t hold them back for a second year.

“We’re all very happy,” Pierce said. “It’s been a long time and we needed to get out here and have some fun and we’re going to.”

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