Krewe du Vieux Krewe du Vieux title float . Marching krewe member . The Krewe du Vieux is a New Orleans Mardi Gras or Carnival krewe , originally and more fully known as the Krewe du Vieux Carre ( `` Vieux Carre '' being another term for the city 's French Quarter ) . It is one of the earliest parades of the New Orleans Carnival calendar , and is noted for wild satirical and adult themes , as well as for showcasing a large number of New Orleans ' best marching bands . The Krewe du Vieux was established in 1987 . It is actually an amalgamation of several smaller semi-independent krewes ( or sub-krewes ) that pool their resources together for parade permits and other expences and obligations . Several of the sub-krewes predate the Krewe du Vieux , originating as walking clubs or as sub-krewes of the defunct Krewe of Clones in the 1970s and early 1980s . The Krewe du Vieux is perhaps simultaneously the most individualistic and the most traditional of all New Orleans parading krewes . It has no large tractor pulled floats like the larger krewes , using only old style small human or mule drawn floats interspersed with marchers on foot . It has no recorded music blaring from boom box trucks , for the Krewe du Vieux uses music only from live bands . The floats are hand made and decorated by members of the respective sub-krewes , often with themes satirizing local politics and customs , sometimes of a bawdy nature — much closer to early 19th century Carnival traditions than any other Krewe currently parading . The Krewe du Vieux is the only Krewe still allowed to parade through the French Quarter ( other than some small walking Krewes on Mardi Gras Day ) ; krewes with larger floats have been prohibited in the narrow streets of the old town since the 1970s . The Krewe honors as its monarch each year a New Orleanian particularly notable as a representative of the local culture . Various local musicians , artists , writers , and colorful characters have reigned as King or Queen , including Danny Barker , Andrei Codrescu , Ernie K-Doe , Irma Thomas , and Ronnie Virgets . In 2006 , less than six months after Hurricane Katrina made landfall , Krewe du Vieux was the first Mardi Gras parade to roll through the streets of New Orleans . The theme that year was `` C'est Levee '' . External link KreweDuVieux.org Categories : New Orleans Mardi Gras 