The Krewe of Iduna History

The Krewe of Iduna (e-don-a) was organized in 1960 by a group of Baton Rouge women who wanted to establish a women’s social Mardi Gras organization based on the old traditions of New Orleans Mardi Gras Krewes.  The purpose was to present a themed formal ball each year with a king, queen, pages, maids and dukes whose identity would be a secret until the night of the ball. Since our maids were not debutantes, any parties to honor the Court were held after they were presented at our ball.  At the beginning, even the king did not know he would be king until the night of the ball.

The name Iduna was proposed by Ruth Sherlock, a Charter member, and was based on a Scandinavian myth “The Apples of Iduna”. Iduna was the goddess of youth, and her husband, Bragi, was the god of poetry and eloquence. Thus came the krewe’s name and our king and queen’s names.

The first ball was held in 1961 in an airplane hanger out at Ryan Field, now known as Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.  At the time, that was the only place large enough to hold a tableau, presentation, and ball for 300-500 people. The charter members had to do all the work themselves, from draping the entire hanger with fabric, to stocking the bathrooms with supplies. All the Baton Rouge krewes used the same facility, so they shared some of the decorating responsibilities. The first krewe to arrive put up the wall hangings and the last krewe to leave disassembled.

Since Iduna was the youngest Krewe, we traditionally opened Carnival with the first ball of the season and our responsibility was to put up the wall hangings.   From what our charter members tell us, it was truly a family affair, as it is now, with husbands and children pitching in to put it together. For a number of years the balls were held at Ryan Field and since have been held in various hotels, the Riverside Centroplex and, for over 20 years, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Krewe of Iduna balls are now held downtown at the Raising Cane's River Center.