Krewe of Gemini to toast silver anniversary

Gemini is rolling through the streets once again March 1, marking its 25th anniversary by organizing one of the largest parades in the state with about 40 floats that will include participation from other krewes throughout the area along with commemorative anniversary throws.

An extravagant grand bal on Feb. 15 at the Shreveport Convention Center will bring in 1,000 or so people to add to the excitement this year as the krewe honors King and Queen Gemini XXV Dr. Michael Banda and his wife, Shannon Banda.

Founded in 1989, the Krewe of Gemini is the oldest parading krewe in the Ark-La-Tex. The krewe holds numerous events during the year including a theme announcement party, coronation, fall flambeau, Twelfth Night, grand bal and tableau, oat loading, Gemini Grand Parade and Cocktails With The Captain.

According to the Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau and The Shreveport Times, Gemini is part of a big Mardi Gras boost to the local economy that brings in more than 400,000 revelers and more than $25 million each year.

Russ Friedrich is Capt. Gemini XXV and was a charter member of the organization years ago.

“There are about 15 or 20 of us who are still around and were charter members,” Friedrich said.

The krewe started with about 200 members, and in the last few years has averaged around 350 members a year and grown as large as 400. The krewe formed in the late 1990s as the only krewe open to the public and with a parade. Prior to Gemini, the Krewe of Apollo existed but only did a ball, and they have since disbanded.

In February of 1990, Gemini became essentially the flrst Mardi Gras krewe to parade in Shreveport -Bossier City. There were a few early parades in the 1930s and 40s, Friedrich said, but they only lasted a few years.

The motivation to start the krewe came from a meeting at the Bossier Chamber of Commerce to figure out how to ll the gap in public activities between Christmas and Easter. Officials and committee members came up with the idea to have “Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex,” and thus the Krewe of Gemini was born, with Doyle Blasingame having the inspiration for the name to mirror the two cities and the concept of Gemini being twins in astrology.

“We wanted everything just like what you would see in New Orleans, but we wanted it to be more family-oriented,” Friedrich said. “We wanted the costumes and oats but just a little different atmosphere.

“We’re different from other krewes because we’re open to the public. All you do is ll out an application and get approved by the board. Our krewe is based around family. We want everyone involved.”

There are about 15 krewes in Shreveport-Bossier City, run via quarterly meetings of a Captains Council that determines the dates and formats for the parades and balls. Each captain, acting as president of the board, selects their own parade themes for the year, as well. Captains come up through the ranks of the krewe before they are selected to act as captain from May 1 through April 30.

Friedrich said the first year Gemini organized a parade, they rented three floats from the Krewe of Janis from Monroe. After that, the krewe decided to build their own floats. They went to New Orleans for research and to this day build the majority of the floats seen rolling down the parade route each year. “We meet a lot of new people and new friends doing all this,” Friedrich said. “We become family. It’s a common interest, and there’s a lot of excitement. That’s sort of what keeps us all involved. There’s always new experiences with the floats, the ball and the parades. “ Children are a big part of the Gemini family, too, and some of the children who were riding on the first floats 25 years ago are members of the krewe today. Friedrich has ridden in every parade since 1990 and is also a float co-lieutenant, with the responsibility of taking care of one the floats. In Friedrich’s case, the float is one of the original three from the first parade. It costs the krewe anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 to build a float and can take four to six people several months to build. The floats are reused from year to year by being stripped and painted white, then redesigned with the current theme. Float designers and builders from New Orleans come up to Shreveport-Bossier to help create the new props and re-paint the floats. Gemini currently has 29 floats. Additionally, the gowns and costumes are from companies in New

Orleans, Friedrich says, because this helps the krewe closely maintain that connection to New Orleans Mardi Gras traditions. Members of the krewe will occasionally attend some balls in New Orleans and a few will travel down to spend a weekend hobnobbing with bead vendors and costume designers. The city of New Orleans has recognized Gemini with a proclamation as an official krewe.

The krewe boasts a mix of people from all walks of life, Friedrich said. “We have doctors, dentists, Air Force and military, welders, construction and service repairmen ... You name it, you can join the krewe.” While the krewe doesn’t have the resources to pull in top-name celebrities for parades as some of the New opportunities for local celebrities to Orleans krewes do, they provide great participate. This year’s grand marshal is Cary Petty, who was implemental in coming up with the idea for “Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex” 25 years ago as then-vice president of business development for the Bossier Chamber of Commerce. Friedrich said the krewe gets new funny stories to tell every year, but one he remembers best is from year “We didn’t know anything about one.

Mardi Gras or throws or any of that. I showed up and got on my float with my beads and this pickup truck pulls alongside of us in the staging area, and the driver says, ‘I’ve got some boxes here, where can I unload them?’ I told him to just put them on our float. I thought they were somebody’s throws. “The parade starts, and we started throwing our beads as fast as we could. About halfway through, we all ran out of throws. So we decided to unload these boxes. We didn’t know it, but Subway Sandwiches had donated a whole bunch of sandwiches for the krewe and delivered them in the boxes.  So we had all these sandwiches and decided what the heck, let’s throw these. “We ended up throwing Subway Sandwiches to the spectators. They loved it.”

Charter member Sandy Cimino was on the Chamber Board of Commerce when they decided to start Mardi Gras in the region, and she was also the krewe’s queen in the second year. about 20 people who pulled it Along with Petty, she said there were together initially, including then Chamber of Commerce President Bob Taylor and the late Freda Urban.

“We knew we wanted Mardi Gras, but that was about it. We couldn’t decide if we wanted a parade or a ball, so we had both. That first year, when we pulled the parade over the bridge to Bossier Mall, we just didn’t know if we were even going to have anyone waiting to catch beads. But everyone was so receptive and just thrilled to have the parade. We had a big party.

“We didn’t have the fanciest floats then, and ours didn’t have built-in steps on it, and the second year when I was queen and we were ready to get off the float, the princesses and I had to just free-fall into the hands of these strong men on the ground. They caught us, thank God!” Free-falling maidens and airborne deli sandwiches aren’t on the krewe’s agenda these days, but this year’s theme, “Throw Me a Memory, Mister,” will offer collectibles such as a complete set of polystone beads that represent each year of the krewe’s existence.

The krewe buys about $250,000 of bulk beads each year, and krewe members purchase their own from that lot.

The biggest challenge the krewe has is finding volunteers, Friedrich said.

“It’s something every krewe has to manage,” he said. “Finding those people who can step up and help run the organization ... We have about 30 riders on our float, for instance, and most of those people have been on there for 15 or 20 years. Keeping new people on board with the krewe for longer than a year or two like that is tricky, though. We just try to keep the momentum going.

“We’ve tried to run in as a business but keep it fun too. We do a lot of activities together, cookouts, barbecues and those kinds of events. It’s not just about Mardi Gras. It’s about family. Having that focus has helped us tremendously.”

The krewe helps out the Salvation Army each year, along with Toys for Tots and the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana. Krewe members visit nursing homes and hospitals as well.

“We try to help out those people who can’t come out for Mardi Gras,” Friedrich said. “We bring it to them.”

Along with the 29 floats that Gemini will have in the parade, there will be about 10 or so more from other participating krewes, including Centaur, Atlas, Justinian, Barkus and Meoux and others.

The Krewe of Gemini rolls through town at 4 p.m. March 1, starting on Clyde Fant Parkway and ending on Preston Street. The den party is at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at 2101 E. Texas St. in Bossier City, and the grand bal will be at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Shreveport Convention Center with tickets for $80 at the door.

For more information, go to the web at www.kreweofgemini.com or call 741-9264.