New Orleans Threw a Birthday Parade for the Late Betty White. And You Need to See the Photos

A big fan of simply having a great time, White inspired others around her to do the same in her comedy and her iconic roles, like Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. Fans created signs of their favorite White quotes, complete with photos.

To honor her 100th Birthday, the hashtag #bettywhiteschallenge was created and quickly began to trend on social media. The challenge was to support an animal charity in honor of her milestone age. For the New Orleans parade, organizers gathered donations to cover the cost of security escorts and city street cleaning. All additional donations were then given to the local animal organization, Villalobos Rescue Center. Dogs, naturally, felt the need to show up for Betty White, too.

The parade began at Canal Street and proceeded down Bourbon, turning right at St. Ann to make its way to Jackson Square. Like the one pictured, street performers lined up every few blocks to update the gathering spectators and sing a few show tunes for Betty White.

You can’t call it a New Orleans send-off without the proper soundtrack. The Bourbon Street Brass Band led the march.

What started as a dark and overcast morning quickly turned into a blue-sky and stunner of an afternoon. The parade began at 4 p.m., with attendees loudly singing happy birthday to Betty White, followed by several rounds of Thank You for Being a Friend, the theme song of The Golden Girls.

It was a family affair for many.

With mere weeks before Mardi Gras gets rolling, stylish, fun costumes were plentiful.

Beneath the Spanish filigree of the wrought-iron balconies in the French Quarter, the parade was one of the first since the pandemic shut down the city.

The Betty White parade was organized by Santa T Claus––a local resident and fundraiser, who had a real soft spot for her. Fun Fact: he’s also the only human in America to legally change his name to that. He is shown here, with co-host Carl Mack of Carl Mack Presents.

Paying tribute to Betty White, many tourists stopped by costume shops and got in on the action, too. So far, more than $4,000 has been raised in donations for the Villalobos Rescue Center in New Orleans.

A few pedicabs brought up the rear at the end of the parade, with the organizers waving to those on the sidewalks. The parade culminated in Jackson Square with a tearful I’ll Fly Away, sung up to the skies. If you’d like to support animals in honor of Betty White’s 100th Birthday, you can donate to this link, which will remain live for a few more days.