Chewbacchus — The Nerd Krewe

Ryan Ballard and Kirah Haubrich founded the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus in fall 2010 at The Saturn Bar. They were joined by local attorney Brett Powers—the three original "Overlords." The name is a satiric mashup of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, and Chewbacca, the Wookiee from Star Wars. The krewe marched for the first time during Mardi Gras 2011 near the Uptown parade route on Bacchus Sunday. Chewbacchus describes its mission as "to save the galaxy by bringing the magical revelry of Mardi Gras to the poor, disenfranchised, socially awkward and generally weird masses who may have never had the opportunity to participate in a Mardi Gras Parade Organization"—or in short, "saving the galaxy, one drunken nerd at a time." Anyone can join for a relatively small fee, compared to invitation-only krewes. Membership grew from a small core group to over 300 dues-paying members in the first year, then 400 in 2012, over 500 in 2013, over 1200 by 2016, and over 2500 by 2019. The 2013 parade drew an estimated 20,000 spectators. The krewe is a walking organization with a "contraptions only" policy. Contraptions are pushed rather than pulled by truck or tractor, and they do not have riders. Members pedal, push, or pull them on frames of bicycles, homemade trailers, and shopping carts. All contraptions make an effort to be environmentally friendly, made with recycled materials. Chewbacchus actively discourages packaging and requires all members to dispose of their trash responsibly on parade night. The krewe expanded beyond science fiction to include fantasy and horror in 2012. Members are known for handmade throws—highly prized by parade attendees—that feature the mother krewe's annual theme, a subkrewe annual theme, or a subkrewe in general. Chewbacchus has pulled off notable hoaxes, including a 2012 guerrilla marketing campaign centered on an elaborate Bigfoot hoax by a fake organization, the New Orleans Bigfoot Society, that claimed Sasquatch lurked in City Park. The creature was eventually revealed to be a "Drunken Wookiee." In late November 2012, the krewe launched a prank website announcing that the Curiosity rover had located Mardi Gras beads on Mars and that the famous Martian "face" was in fact a Wookiee temple. The Overlords offered the entire Mars Rover team free memberships. The Saturday-before-Mardi-Gras parade is free and less packed than main-route parades. Stake out St. Claude.