New Orleans – Most beads thrown from floats will wind up in an attic or a storm drain. But some lucky parade-goer will receive the “Grail of Grails” at the King Arthur parade next Sunday, February 16.
For the fourth year in a row, the krewe of King Arthur will have one very valuable “throw” that will not be thrown.
Instead, the krewe has announced that if “someone leans over the side of a float and hands you a big, gift-wrapped parcel… you’ve struck gold, literally.”
According to a press release from the krewe, there is only one “Grail of Grails” each year, and the 2020 version was crafted by local metal-smiths, Alison Ford and Cliff Pitre.
The grail is “a gilded antique glass chalice, decorated with freshwater pearls, two malachite stones in sterling silver settings, and more than one hundred Swarovski crystals.”
“We’ll be handing the Grail of Grails to someone who catches our eye and makes us smile,” says King Arthur Captain Phil Fricano, who founded the krewe on the West Bank 43 years ago. King Arthur moved across the river 20 years ago, and now parades Uptown.
“It could be someone with a witty banner or a costume,” says Fricano, “or they might just be in the right place at the right time.”