Oh it would be great to be a crew member. But man does it take big money. Esp for the bigger crews, like Endymion. The Balls, the dinners, the fund raising, then they have to buy their own throws. One of my dh's best friends is a crew member of Endymion. Fun, but you pay for that fun. He was trying to get dh on the crew when we were transferred to VA. I was glad, dh was in a duck lease, and that was already a good bit of money going out.
@Fallon: When I rode in the Krewe of Centurions back in 1994-96, I would drop between two to three thousand a year between dues, balls ( coronation--October & celebration--January) and THROWS ( my biggest expense) for the parade. This did not count the fact that I worked bingo twice a week to help raise money for the parade itself ( at least we recieved credits that we could use towards Krewe items....shirts, throws, etc...) .Yes the larger krewes are much more expensive and I know folks who put their beads/throws in lay-a-way and pay them out over the course of the year. I was once told by some of the ladies/ krewe members from Cleopatra that they view Mardi Gras as an adult version of Christmas and they were the santa claus on the float giving out the "gifts" and yes it is fun! 4951