Krewe of Boo Open House and Silent Auction This Saturday

The Krewe of Boo- New Orleans' Official Halloween Parade-will preview its beautiful floats to members on October 11th 2008. This day event is family oriented and the last member event before Halloween night. As the Krewe gears up for the parade, they mingle and finalize last minute details with their co-riders. Members are encouraged to bring family and friends to this festive event. Fair-like amenities will be provided including face painting for kids, games, hotdogs and hamburgers.

There will also be a silent auction of nearly 40 exciting items including the positions of our first annual Royal Court! Court positions are open to non-members.

Created by New Orleans' own Blaine Kern Sr., THE mastermind producing Mardi Gras for over 60 years, the Krewe of Boo will be unlike any other parade in the world. Not only is the Krewe of Boo the first Halloween Parade in New Orleans history, it is the first parade with a charitable cause! Mr. Kern's vision for this unique event was to give back to New Orleans first responders the best way he knows how…by throwing a party! Every dollar generated by the Krewe of Boo benefits New Orleans police, fire, and EMS personnel.

In 2007, Mr. Kern founded one of the most innovative nonprofits in New Orleans, the First Responders Fund. This organization was established because there was a need. Our police, fire, and EMS departments were suffering in many ways in the months and years following Hurricane Katrina. Official headquarters and offices were replaced with inadequate temporary trailers, order and control replaced with rampant crime, and stable personnel turned into staggering loss. The working environment for these agencies was hard, and home life was harder. Many first responders were working in temporary offices and living in temporary housing; all while coping with personal decisions that bared difficult solutions. The New Orleans Police Department was in a particularly critical situation by the end of 2006 when it experienced the loss of nearly 500 officers. With a sound Board in place and direction from Superintendent of Police Warren Riley, Chief of New Orleans Fire Department, and Executive Director of Emergency Management Services Jullette Saussy, the First Responders Fund decided to support these pubic departments by offering a housing initiative that would compliment compensation packages and aid retention efforts.

Founded on the belief that if we help the recovery of these men and woman, we help the recovery of our City, the First Responders Fund announced its mission publicly in July of 2007. Assuring that in 2008 we would see two very important initiatives come to life- the execution of a housing program for New Orleans first responders and the inaugural roll of the Krewe of Boo Halloween Parade!

Go to the Krewe of Boo website for more information on this event and how to join in the festivities!