The first parade of Mardi Gras, honoring Joan of Arc, will roll tonight, less than a week after a man drove his truck into crowds on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people.
Carnival begins on Twelfth Night after Christmas, which some claim was the teenage heroine's birthday.
Antoinette de Alteriis, one of the parade's captains, says it didn't take leaders long to decide the parade should still happen after the New Year's attack.
"We felt the best way to honor the people who passed and the people who are grieving … is to go on with our lives," she says. "Celebrate the joy."
That was also the message at a special mass held for the krewe at St. Louis Cathedral on Sunday.
"There's a sense of unease that enters our hearts in the face of tragedy," said Father Patrick Williams. "We can give into fear, or we can choose to hope."
After the service, a second line snaked out of the church to a gilded statue of Joan a few blocks away and a brass band played "Happy Birthday" to her a day early.
Amy Kirk-Duvoisin founded the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc after Hurricane Katrina.
"We tell her story, we celebrate French heritage, and we do it in a very New Orleans style," Kirk-Duvoisin says.
Joan of Arc, or as the French call her, Jeanne d'Arc, is the patron saint of France and saved Orléans, New Orleans' sister city when the English tried to capture it during the Hundred Years' War.
The krewe has held a walking parade in her honor every year since, except for during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when they put together a drive-by event instead.
Kirk-Duvoisin says that after Katrina, when people were still recovering and looking for meaning or a reason to stay, some, herself included, found strength in Joan.
One of Joan of Arc's quintessential quotes is, "I am not afraid. I was born for this."
As the city processes yet another tragedy, Kirk-Duvoisin says it makes sense to keep celebrating the joy of life, what the French call "joie de vivre."
About a thousand marchers plan to parade through the French Quarter Monday night, including flaming heretics, silver angels and two Joans of Arc, one from France, the other from New Orleans, on horseback.
Alteriis says the krewe was already safety conscious given all the moving pieces. The parade never goes on Bourbon Street, and its members don't drink while parading.
"One thing that most people don't know is we have more security and escorts in our parade than any other parade does in the entire Mardi Gras season proportionally to our people," she says. "We costume them so you don't see them."
Alteriis says the event will also have a greater police presence this year. And while some volunteers did drop out after Wednesday's attack, she says there are no hard feelings.
"We respect how you feel, and we understand it," she says. "And this is what we choose to do."
Life Sacco, one of the parade's teen Joans, was nervous, too, but says she felt better after seeing how seriously the krewe takes security.
"You never know what can happen," she says. "I definitely think that nothing's gonna happen."
She was ignoring fear and choosing hope.
