The Krewe de Jeanne d'arc (Joan of Arc) rang in the Carnival season yesterday on Twelfth Night with their annual parade. Commemorating the 599th birthday of the French warrior who pulled herself out of peasantry, the parade is held to honor a woman who was nicknamed the "Maid of Orleans."

The procession was befitting of their beatific namesake, featuring City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer portraying "Joannie on the Pony," or Joan of Arc in her saintly glory. Crowds were clamoring as Maid of Honor Mallory Young, a student at St. Martin's Episcopal School, passed out 16 swords. Other throws included wooden crucifixes, Joan of Arc medallions, and wooden boxes with scrolls containing biographical information about the legend herself. To top off the festivities, Gambino's Bakery donated King Cakes for everyone to partake as the parade reached its conclusion in Dutch Alley.