Titans eager for inaugural ride Feb. 15

Houma’s newest riding carnival club, the Krewe of Titans, will be “Rollin’ and Throwin'” this Mardi Gras season.

Titan’s parent organization, Terrebonne Family Carnival Club Inc., emerged on the carnival scene as a new family-oriented krewe two months after last year’s Mardi Gras season ended.

Titans will roll through downtown Houma on Feb. 15 behind the Krewe of Hyacinthians, which starts at noon.

“Everything we needed to parade is done, and we are just ready to go,” said Titans’ board president Taisha Robichaux. “The krewe is so excited.”

The club began after several members, who formerly rode in other krewes, got together with Homer McGee, president of Houma Float Rentals Inc., to start a grassroots Houma carnival club.

Governed by a nine-member board, Titans has five officers. Though McGee helped to start the club, he won’t serve on the board because he rents to the club, which presents a conflict of interest.

The krewe’s aim is to steer away from tableaus, balls and krewe royalty, and offer a low-key family parade, Robichaux said.

“We formed the carnival club to simply have fun,” she said. “In the past few years, too much emphasis has been placed on the other aspects of Mardi Gras. People have forgotten about the parades and how to truly have fun.”

Whether the club will evolve into having a royal court is uncertain.

“We are still learning and experimenting with things,” Robichaux said. “Right now, having a royal court is not one of our goals, but who knows? They may decide to start doing it in the future.”

The krewe has 22 float captains. Each float captain is in charge of renting a float and attracting members to ride. Presently, the club has 350 to 400 riding members – men and women ranging from 5 to 73 years old.

“I think it’s going to be real good for the people that just want to parade and have a good time,” she said. “Like I said, it’s mostly families.”

In this, its inaugural year, the club will have 18 floats hitting the streets. Robichaux said the floats do not have themes this year. However, each one has props and scenes painted on it and many of the riders’ costumes will reflect the float’s décor.

In addition, the Selucrey walking club, the Shriners, several fire trucks, the state Department of Transportation and Development’s crash test dummy, and several members of the U.S. armed forces soldiers will parade with Titans.

For more information about the Krewe of Titans contact, Robichaux at (985) 226-4854.