New Orleans Residents Turn Homes into Mardi Gras Floats

From working and going to school online, to finding different ways to pass time while stuck indoors, social distancing has required a whole lot of creativity just to survive. The residents in New Orleans are embracing this fact to keep the spirit of Mardi Gras alive in 2021. With this year’s festivities canceled, elaborate floats won’t be parading through city streets as per usual. But thanks to some ingenuity, you’ll still be able to find them there. The good people of New Orleans are instead decorating their own homes like Mardi Gras floats.

WWLTV

“House floats” (which we first heard about at Smithsonian magazine) are the delightful brainchild of insurance claims manager Megan Joy Boudreaux. She had an idea of how to reimagine one of Mardi Gras’ signature events after the city canceled all celebrations in 2021. At the time, she tweeted, “It’s decided. We’re doing this. Turn your house into a float and throw all the beads from your attic at your neighbors walking by.”

Later she started a Facebook group, Krewe of House Floats, to recruit more people to the cause. It now has more than 12,500 members from all over the world. Thus, Boudreaux’s efforts have worked. And in more ways than she could probably have even imagined.

Many others are decorating their homes in different themes. Some to amazing effect. A trip through New Orleans is now a sort of reverse parade. Instead of beautiful floats driving by you, you drive by them. But just as cool is that some people are employing Mardi Gras float designers to help, keeping them in business during an off year.

The whole effort has become a true celebration of the community, in the greatest of Mardi Gras spirit. As far as creative solutions to a COVID-world, they don’t get much better—or prettier—than that.

Post originally published January 29, 2021, and updated February 17.

Featured Image: WWLTV