Krewe de Bonne Terre moves parade to Sunday
February 5, 2016
Mardi Gras morning hit and run proves fatal
February 10, 2016
Jackie Clement has had his viewing stand in Houma ever since parades starting rolling on the city’s west side.
The large, flatbed trailer has been a target of krewe members’ best throws for what Clement estimates to be 19 years. He even spent some time before the carnival season making his stand even more attractive to those on the floats.
“I re-did the whole trailer this year. Gave it a good bath, good coat of paint. I ain’t going to brag, but it really looks good,” he said.
Clement’s stand sits on the 7500 block of Main Street in downtown Houma, near a place with significant sentimental value. Three generations of Clements have worked and owned Rene the Tinner, a blacksmith shop that harkens to a bygone era. Next to the shop is a house Clement is quite familiar with.
“Matter fact, my daddy lived in that house 90 something years ago,” Clement said.
Clement’s stand is just one of many lining the streets in Terrebonne Parish for carnival season. According to permit data online, Terrebonne received 44 applications for viewing stands in 2016.
According to Geoffrey Large, assistant director of planning and zoning in Terrebonne, every application gets approved, so long as the applicant is the owner of the property the stand will be on or has the written permission from the owner to put the stand there. Large struggled to think of a situation where his department would deny an application that had the landowner’s consent.
“I find it difficult to think of why we would. We’ve never denied one yet,” Large said.
While getting parish approval is usually an easy process, those with stands must be careful when putting up those stands. If the stands creep up on the street, they’re encroaching on state right-of-ways, which means the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development can have the structure taken down.
Those looking to turn a quick carnival buck with a commercial stand need to jump through a few more hoops. Most of the vendors are concession stands selling food, which requires visits from the Louisiana Department of Health and the Office of State Fire Marshal.
“The food stands would need to be Department of Health inspected and approved by the state fire marshal, because they are a commercial outlet, even temporary,” Large said.
The collapsing price of oil over the past year has not kept revelers off the parade route, as this year’s 44 viewing stands represent an increase of one from last year’s 43. However, from 2012 to 2014, that number was never below 50, with a high of 57 in 2012.
The sluggish local economy may have made some of those vending entrepreneurs a little more hesitant this year, though. In 2015, there were 24 permits issued for commercial vendors. This year, that number dropped to 20.
Fewer permits means a slight dip in revenue for Terrebonne Parish, as viewing stand permits cost $50 each and a vendor permit costs $100. Terrebonne earned $4,550 in 2015 and $4,200 in 2016. However, according to Large, those prices are essentially service fees for the planning department.
“Most revenue coming into the parish is general fund. But I can tell you it just about covers the cost of administering the permit,” Large said.
While the stands are not cash cows for the parish, according to Large, they do bring value on parade days for all stakeholders.
“When we have people with reviewing stands, it helps reduce the crowding on the pavements in certain parts of town, which adds to the general overall safety and enjoyment of the event for people who are not in the stands,” he said.
That added safety benefit is a critical factor for some setting up these stands. Anthony Herques owns the McDonald’s on West Park Avenue, and he has put a stand out in front of his business. During the Friday of Hercules, his party can get up to between 50 and 75 people. While he has no children himself, he understands how valuable his designated area is to his friends and family who come with their own little ones.
“It’s nice that we’re fenced off, we’re high above the crowds,” Herques said. “It’s good for my friends with young kids, because the kids can run around inside the fenced-in area and be on the flatbed. We don’t have to worry about kids up and down the street.”
When asked for his motivation to set up his stand on Main, Clement’s first words focused on the youth.
“I had the opportunity to get a trailer, my kids were young, and grandkids, get ‘em off the streets, you know? We cook, we have a big family affair over there,” he said.
That family affair is amplified during the Krewe of Hyacinthians parade. Clement has three daughters that ride in the parade, and his stand features a big sign that says “Jackie’s Krewe,” making sure his girls can lock onto their target. Not that his location is any secret, as it has been on that family property for many years and will be for more to come.
“It’s a good location. No trouble, got street lights, I got lights on the trailer. So, pretty safe,” he said.
As per tradition with Mardi Gras season, after all the parades and partying ends, one must take stock of what just happened and figure out what to do going forward. It is no different for those who have stands, as they have ten days from Mardi Gras Day to remove their centers of celebration. How smooth is that process?
“Oh, it’s a problem every year. We always have to hassle people,” Large said. “We’ve never yet taken proceedings against anybody; we understand the nature of the season. Now, we understand sometimes you’ve not got the time to take off work after Mardi Gras to get your stand removed. So, we try to work with people where we have a problem and keep encouraging them to get it moved.” •
