By Glen Abbott
‘tit Rəx bills itself as "New Orleans' First and Only MicroKrewe" ('tit is short for "petite").

This pint-size procession rolls through Faubourg Marigny at Carnival time each year with satirical, shoebox-size floats and tiny throws. The parade's theme this year was "Bare Minimum."

NolaVie contributor Glen Abbott offers a look at the sights and sounds of ‘tit Rəx 2013, proving that bigger isn't always necessarily better:

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EnlargeKerry MaloneyMicro Krewe 'tit Rex rolls down St. Roch Saturday night with mini throws, mini floats and multiple bands. (Photo by Kerry Maloney)2013 Micro Krewe 'tit Rex rolls in New Orleans gallery (9 photos)

 

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The 2013 edition of the miniature Mardi Gras parade formerly known as ‘tit Rex, featuring tiny floats towed through the streets by their makers like Chihuahuas on leashes, was a brilliant little affair. This year’s theme was The Bare Minimum, yet the toy float builders seemed to maximize their artistic and satiric skills better than ever.

Each beautifully designed mini float bore a topical pun based on the word bare (as in the float dedicated to the BP oil spill, which was titled “Barely Punished”) or bear (as in the float surmounted by a polar bear atop a watery blue globe) or Bayer (as in aspirin, as in minimal medical options).

The folks who built the biting Right to Bear Arms float (featuring gun-toting Pooh Bears) hit on the simple but effective idea of adding a legibly large title flag to their float leash. I hate to admit it, but the business card-sized labels affixed to most former 'tit Rex floats are difficult for my, shall we say, mature eyes to make out as they rattle along the pavement on their toy wheels.

Legible or not, the floats were all fully unique and new, the miniature hand-made throws were especially wonderful, the bands were excellent and the crowd seemed pleased with the intrinsically tongue-in-cheek child-like sub spectacle. If there was any drawback to this year’s parade, it was that there seemed to be barely enough of it. It’s antithetical, I suppose, but as its popularity grows, I’d like to see the former ‘tit Rex somehow become a bit grander.

Read More at Nola.com

By Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

January 21, 2013 at 8:37 AM, updated January 21, 2013 at 4:55 PM

My number one, not-to-miss 2013 Carnival occurrence will take place Saturday (Jan. 26) in the Bywater and Marigny neighborhoods, as two of the Crescent City’s premier post-Katrina do-it-yourself parades, the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus and the mini-marching parade formerly known as ‘tit Rex (a shortened form of Petit Rex, inspired by the venerable Rex parade and pronounced like the dinosaur), will roll through the narrow streets. The Chewbacchus parade is devoted to Star Wars, Star Trek and all things science fictiony. The parade formerly known as ‘tit Rex (more on that in paragraph three) is a Lilliputian version of a Carnival procession, with shoe box- sized floats towed by formally attired marchers.

Neither Chewbacchus nor the parade formerly known as ‘tit Rex are as huge or splendid as most Carnival parades. But the expressive homemade floats and individualistic costumes in both parades make them much more amusing than most major Carnival krewes – to an art critic anyway. To me, they will always represent the bottom-up, come back spirit that is the silver lining of New Orleans’ 2005-to-present recovery era.

Read More at Nola.com

Click on the photo to the left for more tiny goodness.

The 'tit Rex Parade. The Bywater, New Orleans, 2012

The krewe's 2012 theme was Napoleon Avenue Complex – referring to the diminutive French emperor and the Uptown parade route of the more established New Orleans Carnival organizations.

Courtesy of Nola.com – 'tit Rǝx, February 13, 2012