Covering the Business & Fun of the  Carnival Industry

  The GoodFella's Deliver a Message on the Streets of New Orleans

Pictured: The King and Queen of the Goodfellas parade discuss decorum, as a maid asks a question on route and times. The parade of this mixed club was one of the best pieces of eye candy so far in the second line season. 

Sunday, September 20^th, 2009 ........ New Orleans, LA.  "It's Our 3rd Year, and We're here to Stay! Let's Style and Profile!" That's the message the Main Line organization,  "Good Fellas",  hit the streets of New Orleans with , for their 3^rd annual mainline parade.  To say the least of this group, even though not a seasoned and well known as some of the others, held a parade the garnered attention in the community.

Pictured: The banner is pointed out by the barer as the parade directly behind the banner approaches. Raynold Fenelon is the president of the organization.

 As we cover the clubs for this season, we noticed the discipline of the crowd, the presence of the New Orleans Police Dept and the ability of the clubs to begin their parades on time.  The Good Fellas was true to form without exception.  Their outfits had the color scheme of white, blue and orange.  These men strutted their stuff in the grand New Orleans style and tradition.

You can see and feel the intense pride of personal accomplishment to be able to put these parades on. When the Brass Bands begin to play, emotions began to rise and everyone starts to move with the sounds of the percussionists.  The religious connotation exhibited by the African and Creole Culture of the past are re-enacted on Sundays during the Main Line Parade Season as these clubs dress in their finest and perform in earnest.

 The crowd swelled as they marched through the streets of New Orleans beginning at St. Charles and Josephine streets.  The parade consisted of the Grand Marshals car, which always have the men of pleasure waiting to greet the women, along with a float.  Riding on the float was the King, Queen and her maids. The King and Queen ware dressed in white with all the royal regalia as the maids outfits accented the entourage with orange. 

Pictured: The Goodfellas make their way to their next stop as the barss band behind them gains ground, but only for a bit! This club was by far one of the fastest moving bunch we've seen this season!

 Somewhere along the way, the club picked up the youth of the organization.  The young performs equally with joy and passion as the adults.  The crowd cheers and dance with them and protect them as they parade along the route.  It is truly a joy and a since of pride in the community to see the children perform as they are beginning their journey down the path traveled on by their ancestors.

 The Goodfella’s stopped along the parade route as designated venues to cool off and take a rest as they continues their journey.  Stops such as the Sportsman’s Corner, Teddy’s Bar, The C.J. Peete Community Center , the Other Place, etc greeted the club and the revelers with refreshments.  The street vendors as always, were strategically located and received well by the crowd.  Snow Balls were a hot commodity and bottled water is a necessary fluid.  Plenty of food, however, we will continue to stress that your food choices should be of licensed vendors.

The color scheme of the club worked extremely well, with a base white suit, the accent colors were blue and orange. The shoes were alligator, and the gloves, shirt and hat were all matching the shoes, as blue!

Pictured: With their names on the sash, the members perform before a large crowd before hitting their next stop! People were calling their name by the time they hit the next bar.

The shirt and tie combination enable the sashes to compliment the outfits wonderfully, as the curled ribbon bunch and feathers fans gave any movement rhythm and beauty! The sashes also had rhinestones encrusted into the letters to reflect the sunlight and that it did!

Overall, the style of the group is good, but it still is developing, which makes this one of the new clubs to watch as they begin to let their imagination take hold of the costumes in the future! If they continue the path they are currently on, they will be the club to beat in only 3 more seasons. 

 In conclusion, well-done Goodfellas and we look forward to seeing you next year. As New Orleans continues to strive to find its soul, we find the spirit continues to strive for life.  As we walk these streets of New Orleans where these clubs are marching, our hearts sink as we walk past still abandoned houses, high foliage and nearly non-existent neighborhoods, we hope these organizations will not forget the souls of the present and pass as they try to keep the spirit alive.

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