CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Mardi Gras This Year Becomes 'Yardi Gras'

The Mary Sue: It’s hard to have massive parades and parties during a pandemic, even if it’s a tradition to wear masks for some of the revelers, so Mardi Gras has been a bit different this year in the cities of Mobile, Alabama (where the tradition started in case you didn’t know) and New Orleans, Louisiana. Folks along the gulf have adapted and turned their homes into “house floats” in what they’re calling “Yardi Gras” and the results are fantastic.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I think this is one of the most fun and exciting articles I have seen on here and I absolutely loved looking through this article. Susan actually mentioned Yardi Gras in Basic Design today and so it was great to get to see this article today. As much as many of the COVID pivots that have happened are not always thrilling, I think Yardi Gras is so amazing and really lets individuals demonstrate their creativity! I love all of the designs included in this article so it is really hard to pick a favorite. Definitely the Schitt’s Creek one is really fun and has a lot of detail, but the one with the tentacles coming out of the windows is just so fun to look at. I think there is something so awesome about what a community this is, and it really makes people feel connected in a way that we are all lacking right now. Honestly, this was just a really fun article and I will definitely be looking on social media for more Yardi Gras.

Chloe Cohen said...

I just found out that Mardi Gras is celebrated outside of Louisiana! For some reason, I thought it was only a holiday in New Orleans. I had no idea so many people celebrated. Well, the more you know! I noticed that the King Triton house (second photo) is the spitting image of a float in The Princess and the Frog, which is pretty cool. This looks like so much fun! I love how people reused Christmas decorations and really went all out. I bet this made Mardi Gras really special this year, and driving around to look at all of the decorated houses must have been a really fun treat. I wonder if they only left the decorations up for one day. Now that I think about it, I don’t actually know how long Mardi Gras lasts or what it’s for. I’m going to have to look into it! In the meantime, I’m going to look at Yardi Gras houses on twitter...

Kaisa Lee said...

Like the commenter above I decided to read this article after talking about it in Basic Design the other day. I will fully admit I do not know much about Mardi Gras but I know that it is a significant holiday for those who celebrate it. I know it must be so hard not being able to have all of the floats and parties and events relating to Mardi Gras. However, I think that the floats look absolutely incredible. It is clear that a high level of love and work and care goes into creating these yardi gras decorations. There are so many wonderful and creative routes people took and I loved getting to see them all. I think it is often easy to only focus on negatives during the pandemic but this is a great example of people making the best with what they can do and it is absolutely incredible!

Keen said...

A very cute name for a very significant holiday. These houses are so very impressive. The lengths to which people will go for Mardi Gras (Yardi Gras now, I guess) is truly commendable. And the decorations are so elaborate. I do not know if the owners of these houses also happen to participate in the construction of floats during Mardi Gras in non-pandemic times, but if not, then it really is impressive. I was really surprised to see the house with a literal two- or three-storey dinosaur just chilling on the front yard. Then there's King Triton on your front step? Just casual? Alright then. My favorite one is without a doubt the one three-storey house (or two storeys with a very high foundation) with the giant tentacles sticking out the uppermost floor veranda, green and purple and gold lights, and skeletons ambling about the lawn. It's just so grand and inviting, it looks like a museum.

Megan Hanna said...

This is such a wonderful idea and I wish I could see the floats in person. One of my favorite things to do during quarantine is stroll down streets looking at normal houses. Then when the holidays hit and we weren’t able to participate in a lot of the traditional festivities due to stay at home measures, walking around neighborhoods to see crazy halloween decorations and beautifully lit yards definitely lifted my spirits. It’s great that people could do the same (and more!) for Mardi Gras. Of course it won’t be the same, but at least it creates some joy and unity in the neighborhood. I am so impressed by the community's creativity. The house with the giant tentacles really stuck out to me. It’s such a cool addition to the house and I’m really curious how they set the whole thing up. I’m also a fan of all of the television show references made by some of the houses, specifically the schitts creek one.