With brass bands blaring, crowds lining the streets and bigger-than-life parade floats processing across the city, there’s no mistaking Mardi Gras in New Orleans. For locals, the Carnival season of Mardi Gras is a family affair, with parades and events lasting longer than the few tourist-packed days of the festival.
More than 70 different parades take place in the greater New Orleans area, so it’s no surprise that parade preparation and watching have their own traditions – whether making a float or just watching the krewes pass by.
Builders Create Wow-Worthy Floats
The crowned jewels of the season, the parades’ brightly colored and intricately detailed floats take teams to build and maintain over time. Builders for popular parade krewes, like Bacchus, Zulu and Rex, rely on local Home Depot stores for the right supplies to make these structures come to life. “People get very creative constructing floats,” reveals local store manager Cory Eugene. “Builders have to figure out how they are going to make something a certain shape or have something hold up.”
Cory’s store works closely with Kern Studios, the company responsible for many of the lavish floats and props seen on the parade route. While floats aren’t completely reconfigured every year, they often require repairs or updates—and that’s where Home Depot comes in handy.
Onlookers Prepare with Party Essentials
Parade tailgating and watch parties are an art form. If you don’t come with the right supplies, you may be out of luck.
“People are very serious about the parade-viewing spots and strategies,” explains Cory. “Recently we’ve even seen people buying tarps to secure their spot on the ground. They also come in handier than blankets if it’s rained recently and the ground is damp.”
Locals also have a long-standing tradition of watching parades from decorated ladders lining the streets. Many families use trinkets and paint to specially decorate their ladders for the festivities.
Hooks, the type traditionally seen in garages to hold bicycles, are another surprisingly popular purchase Cory sees during Mardi Gras. “On the floats, people have to have somewhere to put their beads,” shares Cory. “Instead of leaving them in a box, people hang the beads on the hook on the float.” It makes it easy to remove them and toss into the crowd.
And, of course, the traditional tailgating supplies are a hot commodity during the festival. “These are big family events,” explains Cory. “So, we see people coming in to buy grills, fuel, ice chests and more.”
Mardi Gras essentials include yellow, purple and green paint, portable grills, fuel for grills, coolers, step stools, folding chairs and step ladders.
