AH! It’s Mardi Gras Season in the Twin Cities! Everybody celebrates and gets excited about the beautiful floats in the parades that roll for a few hours. But do you know how a Mardi Gras float is brought to life? It’s a long, tedious, fun, anxiety-riddled process that people with big hearts make happen. In the case of the Krewe de Riviere, their floats start as old cotton trailers. That’s right. Those big old chunky green trailers with metal grating along the sides that were used to hold in mountains of north Louisiana cotton get turned into majestic Mardi Gras floats. They are pretty hard to come by these days, but when they are located, it is an exciting time worth celebrating. That means the krewe can grow by another float!
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But it’s not just “Get a trailer and start decorating.” A lot of work must go into it to lower the sides, create a roof, set up a restroom, then layout a floor plan. Twenty people are supposed to fit on these things comfortably to ride! Once the float is stabilized and laid out, the decorations begin. Float captains attach wood to the sides to cover up the metal and prepare for the real fun. After the sides are attached and secured, it’s on to the “decoration station” where they have paints, flowers, lights, lamps, and literally tons of supplies to make a float what the people want. There are paints of every color you can imagine, glitter, feathers, and art supplies galore. As the outside is what everyone will see, the inside is laid out with easy access for riders to the thousands of strands of beads, cups, doubloons, and stuffed animals that are thrown. Each float has things set up in their own way with long nails or PVC tubing at waist height, on the rail, and overhead behind them. When the parade rolls, there will be beads all over the floats. Some floats even have cargo netting set up to hold all the plush they will throw.
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After the float is stabilized, organized, and decorated, it’s time for the finishing touches: the accessories. In the case of the “Sportsman’s Paradise” float, it is magnificent with its natural look and Mardi Gras-colored lights. It looks like a giant duck blind. But they also decided to add some accessories to the roof: GIANT PAPER MACHE ALLIGATORS! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those! Other float accessories will include towers of giant balloon creatures, a working paddle-wheel, candy decorations, and one float will even have live music!
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When you see these floats rolling on February 12th and when you see other parades beyond, just remember they took a group of people weeks and months to get them ready. From the most “basic” to the most “exquisite,’ a lot of work goes on behind the scenes. Be thankful for the effort and appreciate the chance we get to have a little fun. And be sure to holler “THROW ME SOMETHIN!” when that parade rolls by you. You never know WHAT they might throw your way.
