Other forms: krewes
A group that organizes Mardi Gras celebrations is known as a krewe. Most of the people tossing colorful beads into the crowd at a Mardi Gras parade are members of a krewe.
Historians believe that the original Carnival krewe, the Mistick Krewe of Comus, invented the term in 1856 to describe their group in a way that was deliberately old-fashioned. Most cities and towns with French Catholic heritage that celebrate Mardi Gras have their own network of krewes, though New Orleans has the largest and oldest krewe system. Members of these clubs pay dues to pay for costumes and parade floats, and they inaugurate annual kings and queens.