In a May 16 post on the krewe’s Instagram page, the Knights of Sparta announced that the 75-year-old organization will begin admitting women to the krewe for the first time, starting with the 2026 Mardi Gras season. The Knights began as a ball-only organization in 1951 and has been known ever since for its elaborate tableaux that often incorporate ballet vignettes in the presentation. In 1981, the Knights teamed up with the parading Krewe of Mecca to join the parade calendar on the first Saturday evening of the Orleans Parish season. That association lasted a couple of years and since 1984, the Knights of Sparta have held their Saturday night parade independently. In 2021, the Knights partnered with the Mystical Order of the Phoenix, a women’s organization spun off from the 2020 implosion of the Krewe of Nyx. Since 2022, when parades resumed after the Covid-cancelled 2021 season, Sparta and Phoenix have presented one of the highlight processions of the first parading weekend of the Mardi Gras season. As a now coed organization, the organization will officially change its name to the Krewe of Sparta. It will also continue its partnership with the women-only Order of the Phoenix. The 2026 parade is scheduled for February 8, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. on the St. Charles Avenue route in New Orleans.
