The 1960's began very well for Carnival, but the lustre of the season was beginning to wane.  As the nation descended into a troubled period following the assassination of President Kennedy, so to did the old traditions of Carnival come under fire.
Pete Fountain, then at the height of his popularity as a jazz musician, premiered his Half-Fast Walking Club which became an instant success with crowds.  Proclaiming himself "The Prince of Mardi Gras", the Half-Fast Walking Club reignited a need for walking/marching clubs at Carnival.  A handful of other clubs would come and go until the late 60's.  During much of the 1960's, Zulu came under fire from factions in the African-American community, claiming the krewe perpetuated a negative image of black society.  The controversy raged so heatedly that one king resigned his throne, nearly cancelling the parade.  Ironically, one of the aspects most cited as being a racist was the krewe's use of blackface makeup; a convention that had been one of the first great blows for equality, allowing black and white members to ride together.  Zulu survived due in great part to the leadership of then President James Russell, but the middle days of the decade were bleak until 1968.   The older generation who remembered the early glory days of Comus, Momus, and Proteus were passing on while the younger generations were disenchanted with the secretive societies they viewed as old-fashioned and out-of-date.   With the social turmoils of desegregation, civil rights sturggles, issues within the Catholic church, and the Vietnam War, the future of Carnival was in danger.

  In 1968, two new advents forever changed Carnival and Mardi Gras.  Zulu's parade, long consigned to a meandering, haphazard route called the "backtown route" had watched much of their traditional neighborhoods being demolished for the interstate highway system.  Finally, the krewe took its place on the Uptown route, marching the same path as Rex and establishing Zulu as a Mardi Gras morning staple. 
Meanwhile, a new concept in krewe parading was being established by a famous Orleanian and his son.  Back in the 1940's, prominent New Orleans businessman and restaurateur Owen Brennan, Sr. began to see the problems with Mardi Gras.  At the time, krewe balls and events were still closed to everyone but the locals-no visitors allowed.  While preferred by the Carnival society, this frustrated many visitors to the city.  Brennan's idea was to create a new krewe for the rest of the world, with membership open to all.  He successfully produced two Bacchus balls before his untimely death in 1955.  His son, Owen "Pip" Brennan, Jr. revisited his father's ideas when it seemed that Carnival was fading.  Following his father's example, the junior Brennan and company reinvented the Krewe of Bacchus as what would become known as the first superkrewe, featuring larger floats, more riders with more throws, and a celebrity king; film & Broadway star Danny Kaye.  With the innovation of Bacchus, Mardi Gras suddenly became open to an international audience, paving the way for a second Golden Age of Carnival.
And, in 1969, along Royal Street, the Society of St. Ann first gained notice as they marched to Canal St.  Their fanciful costumes and true spirit of Carnival revelry made the group an instant attraction, and made for an interesting contrast.  While Bacchus was opening Mardi Gras up to the world community, this secret society captured attention from the world for its clandestine ways and mystical coterie of revelers dedicated to the designs of Venetian scuola vecchia ("old school"), medieval festivals, and fantastic paens to the mythological.  Its members and fans come from across the globe each Fat Tuesday for the chance to march.  Leave it to Orleanians to keep their traditions alive, even as they open their doors to the world!

Next up, the Seventies presents new challenges to Carnival, and the tale of
"the best Mardi Gras that wasn't!"