The Krewe of Zulu parades on Fat Tuesday morning in New Orleans.
Zulu is formally the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, one of New Orleans’s most distinctive Mardi Gras organizations. Its parade traditionally rolls early on Mardi Gras Day, before the Krewe of Rex, making it a signature part of the city’s final day of Carnival celebration.
The organization developed from New Orleans’s Black social-aid and benevolent-club tradition in the early 20th century. Its parade became renowned for African-inspired costumes, distinctive characters, music, and throws. The most coveted Zulu throw is the decorated coconut, which replaced or supplemented the more familiar beads and has become a symbol of the parade.
The other choices are also important New Orleans krewes, but they parade at different times. Endymion is famous for its massive Saturday-night parade, Bacchus rolls on Sunday evening, while Rex is the major Fat Tuesday parade that traditionally follows Zulu.