Can I share a secret with you, world wide web? I hate Mardi Gras. I know it probably makes me a bad New Orleanian, but I really do.
It’s the parades that make it a bad time. The general parade experience is this: parking ten blocks away because you didn’t pitch a tent and camp out the night before, fighting with a group of drunk adults for enough space on the side walk to put your two chairs, bundling up in blankets and jackets because it’s the dead of winter and it’s starting to drizzle, waiting an hour in the cold and wet for the parade to start (and we used to do this pre smart phones, people), begging the city’s elite (Mardi Gras krewes are largely private, secret societies for New Orleans’ old money) for trinkets, fighting with drunk adults for the good stuff, lugging everything back to the car, sitting in post-parade traffic desperately in need of a bathroom, and making it home with a haul of plastic beads and stuffed animals you suddenly realize you don’t even want.
And that’s if you like attending the parades. If you want to skip them, they’ll still get in your way, blocking off major city corridors, causing traffic, and keeping you from Trader Joe’s, which closes on parade days because it’s right on the route.
The things I do enjoy about Mardi Gras are this: King Cake, pretty floats, and something to look forward to after the holiday season.
Because of COVID, the parades are all cancelled this year. But because this is New Orleans, the celebrations were going to continue, which brings me (finally, I know) to the subject of this blog post: house floats.
Instead of having moveable parades, someone had the idea to make the entire city one large COVID-friendly parade that people could view at their leisure. It was a fantastic idea and the entire city embraced it. People began brainstorming and prepping in December, with decorations meant to go up on January 6th—Epiphany— the official start of Mardi Gras season. As January continued, however, more and more houses began popping up, inspired by pop culture, politics, history, nature, and above all, neighborly competition. Some decorations were created by local artists who otherwise would have been struggling after a year without festivals, others by small budgets and a DIY spirit.
It’s been a celebration of artistry, creativity, resilience, the city, and—of course—Mardi Gras.
I’ve particularly enjoyed it because this Mardi Gras has been everything I love: King Cakes, pretty floats, and something to look forward to (without the parades, and good thing this year to, because as I type this it’s a balmy and rare 28*F afternoon in the city).
Instead of describing how amazing the homes are here (I could never do them justice), I think it’s best to just show you some the houses I came across in a walk in my parents’ neighborhood. Hopefully it’ll brighten your cold, February afternoon too.
This pink house went with a pet theme with banners of dogs in Mardi Gras crowns. The tractor in front is based on the tractors that usually pull floats down the streets! One of the things I love most about the idea of house floats is that the houses here in New Orleans are already so bright and colorful, it doesn’t take much to make them fell full-on festive.
This house float is part of an official house-float krewe (in this case a bunch of neighbors who’ve decided to theme their houses together)! It’s dedicated to Leah Chase, a famous New Orleans chef who passed away a few years ago. Her restaurant Dooky Chase was a gathering place for members of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and she was even the inspiration for a freaking Disney Princess (Tiana, obviously)! It’s awesome to see her acknowledged in this way and the coolest part of this house is that smoke actually comes out her gumbo pot every few minutes!
Another extremely colorful house that doesn’t need much to make it pop.
I really loved how they turned their steps into a bayou (and it was extra creative, because those steps are that color year round!) Those birds are also so gorgeous that I would put them up in my yard year round if they were mine!
Chase and I actually set out to find this house because it’s Golden Girl themed!! We didn’t see many pop culture-themed houses in my parents’ neighborhood, but apparently there’s an entire list of Schitt’s Creek-themed homes.
This one isn’t a house float, but draped Mardi Gras beads on fences are a decor tradition and a lovely ode to the season even if you don’t have the resources to go all out with your home!
This is a swamp themed house, with an ode to the zoo and aquarium’s famous white alligators. They played brass band music during the day, so it sounded like a party whenever you walked past.
And there are even more…
You can view more on the Krewe of House Floats Instagram.
This project overall has reminded me of what I love about New Orleans, the community’s shared belief that life should be continuously celebrated, that we can create our own magic, and that even the dead of winter should be colorful.
I didn’t participate this year, but I’m already brainstorming ideas for next year. (I am 100% sure this will be happening again, it was too good, too beloved to be a one-time effort.)
Let me know which house is your favorite (or how you would want to decorate your house for Mardi Gras) in the comments!
Happy Mardi Gras!