In 1933, they shoehorned a full-grown horse into their Mardi Gras ball as a mount for royalty. In 1976, they got Marines to restage the raising of Old Glory at Iwo Jima and persuaded astronaut James Lovell to descend onto the dance floor in a mock space capsule. Even in the wacky, anything-goes world of New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Bards of Bohemia long have been masters of the outlandish.

Next month, the Bards - formed more than seven decades ago as sort of an Everyman's club - will become the first New Orleans krewe to stage tandem Mardi Gras parades in their hometown and in the green, purple and gold-festooned streets of Galveston.

Scheduled to roll at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 24, the Bards' parade, featuring as many as eight colorful floats, will be among opening events of the second weekend of Galveston's 22nd annual Mardi Gras bash. Last year, an estimated 300,000 revelers turned out for the island city's pre-Lenten party.

" `Always doing the unusual as usual,' " said Bards captain Tommy Blache. "That's our motto."

A Florida-born respiratory therapist turned professional magician turned Mardi Gras leader, Blache, 45, is the fourth captain in the Bards' 74-year history.

"People may think that we're running away from New Orleans," Blache said. "But we're not running away from anything. We've been working on bringing a parade to Galveston for three years. Our theme was `Bringing New Orleans to Galveston.' "

Although the Krewe of Rex sold fragments of its 19th century parades for later use in other cities, Blache contended his group will be the first to march both in New Orleans and another city during Mardi Gras celebrations.

"Mardi Gras gets into your blood," Blache said. "You have to have a passion for it."

For Blache, who is working with Houston attorney and longtime Galveston Mardi Gras parader Tom Luksetich to bring the Bards to Galveston, the final blowout before the austerity of Lent long has been a passion.

"People come into my house and it's - `Wow! It's all green, purple and gold,' " he said.

Blache, a Houston resident who never has lived in New Orleans, became active in the Bards at a friend's invitation about 16 years ago. His long-distance participation required multiple monthly trips to New Orleans throughout the year.

But with the death of its longtime captain, New Orleans lawyer Larry "Cadillac" Smith, the Bards faced an uncertain future, Blache said.

"I just couldn't stand to see 70 years of tradition go out the door. ... It's an old-line krewe. I didn't want to see it wither away. But a lot of those old krewes have bitten the dust," he said. "I knew that if we were inactive more than two years we'd lose our right to parade."

With the support of remaining members, Blache five years ago formally assumed control of the krewe and began putting into place a series of reforms. While never as exclusive as Rex, Comus and the other groups with 19th century roots, Bards of Bohemia - founded by a Canal Street dentist for his fellow professionals and merchants - still closely scrutinized candidates for membership.

"In New Orleans, you'd gain membership by knowing someone who already was a member," Blache said. "I tended to bend the rules."

Blache opened the krewe to anyone who paid the $350 annual membership fee.

"It made things more interesting," he said. "When you rode down the street, maybe the guy next to you would be a plumber or an electrician.

"The first year, I made my mom and dad the queen and king of the parade. That really choked me up. It was a phoenix rising from the ashes. The parade really made a comeback."

Although the Bards long had been a child-friendly organization - the krewe created roles for children in its annual ball shortly after its founding - Blache increased the presence of youngsters in its activities.

"In New Orleans, we have a court that goes all the way from princesses to maids and junior maids," Blache said. "All the court goes to the ball. They're just like my kids."

The nonprofit group also supported orphanages and other child-oriented charities, he said.

The Bards' rebirth has not been without challenges.

Last year, an accident involving a disabled Bards float injured 17 people when a tree branch struck the top of the vehicle.

Later, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and crippled plans for February's Mardi Gras celebration. But, although the extent of its participation is yet to be determined, the Bards' New Orleans branch plans to parade in the city's shortened, eight-day revelry.

"We're short on members, real short," Blache said. "I had 11 staying at my home after Katrina. We don't know who's going to show up."

"Or attend," Luksetich added. "We may be throwing beads to one person."

The Bards' New Orleans faction will team up with another krewe for this year's parade.

Katrina blasted plans for the krewe's Galveston appearance as well.

Prior to the storm, Luksetich, who long had paraded with other New Orleans and Galveston krewes, and Blache had lined up corporate sponsors. (Unlike its New Orleans parade, the Galveston parade will be funded by sponsors, whose employees may ride on floats.)

Now, with many of those companies' charitable coffers drained by Katrina, the Bards are struggling to rebuild support.

"We are caught in a no-man's land," Blache said. "We're taking a lot of heartburn medicine and biting our nails. We're throwing caution to the wind. Anybody who wants to do something in the parade, who wants to be a part of the parade, is welcome."

Funds raised through the parade will be donated to The Furniture Bank, a charitable organization that provides furniture to the needy.

Roughly 1,500 households were provided with emergency furniture in the months after Katrina and Rita, said executive director Oli Mohammed.

Blache and Luksetich are members of the group's board of directors.

"There's more to Mardi Gras than throwing beads," Blache said. "In some sense, we may be down and out, but we have our tradition. It may not be exactly the same, but everybody is getting together and helping. We're trying to help every way we know how.

"The spirit is still there."

 

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Mon 01/09/2006
Section: A
Page: 1
Edition: 3 STAR