Krewe of Krampus bringing back creepy Christmas drive-thru parade this December

For the second year, the Krewe of Krampus will convert its annual parade full of creepy Christmas characters into a drive-through format on Dec. 4.

The event, dubbed Alpine Dreams on Krampus Lane, returns to the horseshoe drive at the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission headquarters at 5420 Franklin Avenue in Gentilly.

The krewe recently hosted a similar drive-thru event for Halloween, and the Christmas version will also feature creative sets and performers dressed in costumes.

Viewers will drive through a designated route in the safety of their car with their family and friends. The performers will entertain all while social distancing outside.

Krewe of Krampus captain Mike Esordi said his decision to bring back this rendition of the event instead of the traditional march through the Bywater all came down to timing. Even with the recent success of the Krewe of Boo parade, Esordi said it was better to stick to his original plan of a drive-through format.

“The decision to open up parades in late October put us in a tight spot. If you know about our krewe you know we put 110% into everything we do,” Esordi said. “Switching gears, with basically two months to do it, didn’t make sense to us.”

The unique annual holiday parade, known as Krampus NOLAuf, is based on an ancient Alpine tradition called Krampusnacht. According to Germanic folklore, Krampus is Saint Nicholas’ counterpart, who has the role of punishing children on Saint Nick’s naughty list.

In past years, the New Orleans spin of the parade featured a stroll through the Bywater with participants dressed in spooky costumes based on the tradition. In 2020, the Krewe of Krampus launched its first drive-through parade as a COVID-conscious alternative.

“For us, it’s all about creative solutions. We were faced with a challenge and we were the ones that found a way to keep doing parades while all others were being canceled,” Esordi said. “We will continue to bring creative solutions to the table today and in the future.”

After the success of the creepy drive-through parade, Esordi says the krewe has learned so much from pushing boundaries with the new format.

“The walking style parade is our preferred format, but rather than just getting back to ‘normal’ we will use this new knowledge to design a walking parade that uses the best of both styles,” Esordi said. “This approach, I’m certain, will allow us to do something absolutely amazing in 2022.”

The group will host the scenic drive-thru from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Visit the Eventbrite website to purchase tickets starting at $20 per car.

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