NEW ORLEANS— In a year where many Mardi Gras krewes are just packing it in because no parades will happen, one group has jumped in to help our city in other ways.

Devin DeWulf, of the Krewe of Red Beans says, “You can be a work horse of a show horse. I hear that expression this morning and basically we just want to help the city in anyway that we can.”

The work horses that are the 300 members of the neighborhood parade has done just that. Help wherever they can.

Whether it’s the Feed the Frontline project they took on at the height of the pandemic or more recently the Hire a Mardi Gras Artist initiative. That was an idea that came from a float builder.

DeWulf said, “What if we put those people back to work decorating houses? I thought it was a great idea. Every single thing that we do goes back to job creation and uplifting the people who make the culture.”

The Feed the Second Line drive also did just that. Provide food to our culture bearers.

“The baby dolls, the second lines, the Masking Indians, the musicians. They’re all regular people. If we want to have a city that’s special, we have to support all of those folks,” said DeWulf.

Along those lines, their latest effort is getting some of these same folks vaccinated by connecting them with vaccine doses that might go to waste. For the Krewe of Red Beans, the effort helps to insure these important community members make it through the pandemic.

According to DeWulf, “Every time that someone passes that’s part of the culture, they’re irreplaceable. We’re working hard to do that and we’re excited. Every additional vaccine that we can utilize is good.

Click here to help support he work of the Krewe of Red Beans