Magic City Carnival Association — or Krewe of MCCA as it is known locally — was blessed with great weather and huge crowds as the 35th edition rolled through the streets of Bogalusa Saturday.

MCCA Captain Don Spiers said everything just seemed to fall into place.

“It was fabulous, a super success,” Spiers said Monday afternoon. “It was the epitome of a grand day. I don’t know anything we could have done to improve the parade. It was the most spectacular non-New Orleans parade that happened this past weekend.”

Spiers said police estimates placed the crowd at 70,000.

“Police officials estimated the crowd at 60,000 last year. This year, officials estimated the crowd at 70,000. The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.”

There were some firsts for the MCCA XXXV. The popular Southern University Band, known as “The Human Jukebox” appeared in the parade for the first time.

“It pretty much says it all when you say that you have the No. 1-ranked College Marching Band in America appearing in your parade,” Spiers said. “What a show they were. I suppose that we could say that we are sort of hanging with the very big leagues when the Jaguars’ next march was in the Krewe of Bacchus the day after MCCA.”

Also, a drone flew above the parade route and shot photographs for the parade for the first time.

“I looked up twice and the drone was eye to eye with me,” Spiers said.

Spiers noted that Grand Marshal Eric Paulsen thoroughly enjoyed himself.

“I got a note from Eric Paulsen, and he was elated about the parade,” Spiers said. “He was surprised going to a town of 13,000 and going through a crowd of 70,000.”

MCCA XXXV King Richard Jenkins and Queen Deni Talley Black were toasted at the viewing stand when they passed by Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette. The viewing stand was in the Best Buy Autoplex parking lot on Montgomery Street.

“All the riders and spectators seemed to be well behaved,” Spiers said. “There was a lot of smiling going on. That was what the day was all about.”