The 1960's began very well for Carnival, but the lustre of the season was beginning to wane.  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.  However, only a handful of other clubs would come and go until the late 60's.  That same year, 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 the king resigned his throne, nearly cancelling the parade.  However, the parade did go on, and Zulu survived, but the lights of Carnival continued tolose some luster throughout the middle of the decade.  Finally, in 1968, a new kind of krewe began rolling, forever changing Mardi Gras.  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 in the late 1960's when a small group of local businessmen met to discuss ways to save Carnival.  Following his father's example, the junior Brennan and company reinvented the Krewe of Bacchus as the first superkrewe, featuring larger floats, more riders with more throws, and a celebrity king, film and stage 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.
Next up, the Seventies presents new challenges to Carnival, and the tale of
"the best Mardi Gras that wasn't!"