This on-line
On St. Charles Avenue, the grand Mardi Gras parade route, celebrations have long been dominated by a few giant krewes, exclusive clubs that pay large sums each year to commission the floats and put on the balls in what they call "the greatest free show on earth. But elsewhere, alternative plans are being made — by "Star Wars" fans drinking beer out of a seven-foot-tall cardboard robot that conceals a keg.
Bar2D2, as the robot is called, is the mascot of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, which runs a ragtag operation dedicated to all things science fiction. In two years, the group, which started as a drunken joke in a bar, has become the quickest-growing krewe in the city, and a center of the amateur costume culture in New Orleans.
The Chewbacchus members — who named their krewe after both Han Solo's furry Wookiee sidekick in the "Star Wars" movies and the Roman god of wine — will be back in action on Saturday for a citywide celebration in anticipation of Mardi Gras on Tuesday.
V
Youtube Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zZC62xTNpE# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zZC62xTNpE#)
Entire article here
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/wookiee-invasion-at-new-orleans-mardi-gras-parade.html?smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/wookiee-invasion-at-new-orleans-mardi-gras-parade.html?smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto)