On a winter morning in Oak Park, Joseph Thomas was clearly feeling the spirit.

It was King’s Day, or ‘the Epiphany,’ which in Thomas’ hometown of New Orleans marks the beginning of Mardi Gras Season. Thomas hails from one of the most-celebrated Mardi Gras krewes in the Crescent City. It’s known as the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, and Thomas saw the way its dancing, marching and parading had a special power to create bonds between people in neighborhoods.

These days, Thomas is one of a handful of influential New Orleans expats in Sacramento who have been transferring the free-spirit frenzy of one old river city into another. Some of the other notable personalities from that circle include Chef Lashunda Cormier at Louisiana Heaven in South Sac, dance fanatic Dre Benjamin of the NolaCal Second Liners and “Louisiana Sue” Ramon, the taste-making, party-throwing troublemaker who started it all in the City of Trees.

As dawn flared on King’s Day 2025, Ramon was on-hand in Oak Park Brewery to watch Thomas lead a foot-moving riot above her bright assortment of King cakes. A cloaked saxophonist in an emerald wizard hat brandished his translucent horn made of ruby lights, blowing like Sydney Bechet while the pianist accompanying him rolled the ivory hard – all as some thirty people inside the brewery sashayed around to the musical voice of the Big Easy.

One of the most prominent group of performers in Sacramento for traditional New Orleans songs is the BTU Arts Brass Band. They’ll be part of the big Krewe of Kings and Queens Parade that Thomas is directing on Broadway on March 1 at 11 a.m.., with an outdoor party to follow at 2020 Broadway between noon and 5 p.m.  

The parade and its preceding street festive will also be enlivened by the Grant High School Pacer Jazz Band, the Solid Funk Band, the Bayonics Reggae Funk Band, Ambitions & Rhythms Music Group, NolaCal Second Liners, the Forever Dancettes Dream Team, the Sacramento Raiders Dance Team, the Sugar and Spice dancers, the River City Dancing Dolls, the Dieu Q Lion Dancers, the Z Crew Zumba Dancers, the Loyalty Riderz Cowboy and Cowgirls, the Confidence Is Everything Dance Team, the Sacramento Senior Spirit dancers, and the West Coast Blues Society.

Some of these performers will be showing their stuff during the marching action, while others will be playing on two different live music stages at the 2020 Broadway site.

Beyond musicians and dancers, the heart of the parade is an array of eye-catching floats that will run the length of Broadway from the intersection of Franklin Boulevard. This year, the floats will be helmed by the likes of the Krewe of Ethiopia, the Krewe of Excellence, the Krewe of Royal Court Fashion, the Krewe of Philippines, Bunny Stuart’s Krewe of Barbies, the Krewe of Zombies and the Krewe of Vampires.

Dre Benjamin and the NolaCal Second Liners will be leading the front of the parade.

Additional features of the event include a touring 72-foot Idaho Potato float, a large dragon float, the Butterfly animated vehicle, the Caddy Kingz Car Club, some slingshot cars and more.     

The party site will also feature sensational Gulf Coast cuisine options from Cormier’s food truck for Louisiana Heaven, as well as dishes from Soul on a Roll and Savory Dave’s BBQ.

The event is put on by SacTown Mardi Gras, which Joseph Thomas founded in 2023. His organization is a nonprofit that hosts community inclusive feedings throughout the year, including for the unhoused population, as well as spearheads anti-vaping and anti-bullying campaigns in Sacramento schools. Thomas said that SacTown Mardi Gras was created with the aim of having a broader mentoring component for local youth.

“It’s not just about Mardi Gras, it’s about civic duty,” Thomas noted this week. “Our ultimate goal is to stimulate the local economy and create an atmosphere where our young people can thrive.”

Thomas has been coordinating the parade and party with Ramon, who started the both original Sacramento Mardi Gras parade and the now-famous Isleton Crawdad Festival in the 1980s. Ramon wants the upcoming thrown-down to fuse her hometown’s magic with distinct elements of life in Sacramento.

“We’re trying for a mix – we’re trying to make a new culture,” Ramon stressed. “New Orleans’ culture is wonderful, but we’re not rubber-stamping it. We’re creating a California style. We’ve even got a singer performing ‘I’m Just Ken’ with the Barbie group.” 

The recommended viewing spot for the parade is the 2020 Broadway location, though it can be seen from most sections of Broadway Avenue. The parade and street party are free, non-ticketed events for the public.

Thomas emphasized that you don’t need prior knowledge of New Orleans music and culture to be invited.

“We’ve got a little bit of everything – and we are a melting pot,” he said. “I want everybody to know that Mardi Gras is for all.”

SN&R’s editor is also the producer of the documentary podcast series, ‘Drinkers with Writing Problems,’ Episode 3 of which was written and recorded in New Orleans.