The Parade is where things really started to get fun.
With the ceremony done, Lonnie popped on his top hat, and we were off.
He was carted around on this thing:
As best as I can tell, this is just a big staircase driven around by a pickup truck, that I have to assume was left over from one of Lonnie's bids for either Lt. Governor or Governor. In any event, it was big enough to fit a jazz band, and they kicked in right away.
Also making their first performing appearance at this time were the... well, I'll call them Showgirls for lack of a better term. As best as I can tell, they were a dance group made up of ladies young and old schooled in the jazz dance styles of New Orleans. They were just awesome.
Oh, and there was DeLorean for some reason. I think it had engine trouble and didn't join the parade march, but any excuse to show a DeLorean is a good one.
So, with the Bagpipers in the lead, we began the 0.9 mile walk back to
Lonnie's house.
(Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that there were bagpipers too. Really, if
you're gonna have a New Orleans Jazz Funeral for yourself, you need bagpipes.)
Even better, the bagpipes were often playing well within earshot of the jazz
band, making for some really interesting musical juxtaposition.
Also, there were some guys on horses.
(I later found out that these guys were representatives from the
Buffalo Soliders,
the first black cavalry unit in the West.)
And I can't leave out Lonnie's best friend, Minnesotan Alan Vaughn. I nearly mugged him for that coat. The man is stylin'.
So, the parade marched on, alternately directed by our LVPD Funeral Escort:
And our own Bagpipers.
It's worth noting that we were seriously messing up traffic at Rush Hour on a Friday. But with a few exceptions, the cars were a little too entranced with the procession to complain.
After about half a mile, we made our first pit stop, at a local house that was setup with refreshments. Someone served me a really tasty meatball, which wasn't what I was expected on a mile walk on an 80 degree day.
I love the near-life size stand-ups of Lonnie. He has these things all over his house too.
I'm still not sure who these people really are. But they were cheering us on and providing meatballs, so they're good in my book.
Things were going pretty well at this point. Meeting people, good music, free meatballs...
And then, from a distance, everything got just a little more awesome.
.
.
.
.
Darth Vader came.
Along with six Stormtroopers in tow.
Right about then, my brain exploded.
These Stormtroopers were part of the Fighting 501st, a group of Star War Costume Enthusiasts who also do a lot of cool charity work. (There's a cool new documentary about the group and its charitable exploits making the rounds called Heart of An Empire.)
But charity, schmarity, when Stormtroopers show up, everyone wants a picture:
(Oh, and I don't know who the cheerleaders are or why they were there, but they were definitely part of the event, not just random bystanders.)
After the Stormtroopers showed up, it's mostly a blur.
The Jazz band played:
Lonnie sang "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" with em:
The Showgirls danced:
And then came...
or...