Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine: Under normal circumstances, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations are veritable bacchanals filled with throngs of people throwing gold, green and purple beads from ornately decorated parade floats. Amid a global pandemic, however, pressing against crowds of strangers is a more frightening than festive prospect.
5 comments:
These ‘house floats’ remind me of the online theatre that we are doing today. Although it is not exactly how the participants envisioned their holiday, they still try and celebrate it in a similar way. Unfortunately, this celebration normally brings New Orleans a big economic boost which in this format, they will not be able to have. No one will be traveling to New Orleans to see a parade and eating at their restaurant, staying at their hotels, and seeing their other various sites. It also is not employing the people who might be building the floats or driving the floats and the police officers that would need to guide the parade. This is definitely going to be an issue for them. I do enjoy seeing the creativity in the residents, though.l A Lot of these decorations seem custom made for each house and have a high build quality. It reminds me of Christmas decorations but it doesn’t quite have that corporate feel.
I loved this article; another example of people adapting to the strange circumstances. As Jake also said, this is a similar pattern that is happening all over the place. People are having to find alternatives to the traditions and normal activities we have all grown accustomed to. But, there always seems to be some way to make something fun out of it– in this case, so-called “house floats” to make up for a lack of Mardi Gras parades this year. The photos are wonderful in this article (I recommend taking a look!); it reminds me of driving to look at people’s holiday decorations and the amount of beautiful effort and creativity in these houses is astounding. I think this is a great example of making the best out of a bad situation; the pandemic is no one’s friend, but it brings me joy to see people finding space to bring some cheer into the world and their lives.
The pandemic makes people rethink everything. Being a creative in a pandemic is a very hard thing. Seeing people become adaptive and creative with traditions is really heartwarming. Although it isn't a typical Mardi Gras Parade, communities still bring the festivities to life at a distance. I wonder how the pandemic has affected the world's alcohol consumption rates?? A little random and off-topic from this article but a lot of businesses rely on events like Mardi Gras to bring in revenue. I get that consumption of alcohol at home has increased but I wonder if the overall alcohol conception had changed or not because of the pandemic. Anyways back to the home floats. Some people are getting very creative with these!! I think it also brings an opportunity to people that may not participate in the creation of the regular floats to try their hand at celebrating Mardi Gras by decorating their house (Is Mardi Gras becoming Christmas or Halloween?)
I love this idea! On the harbor my parents live on during the Christmas time, every year we have a boat parade and decorate for Christmas. This year, they also added decorations to the houses that sit on the cusp of the harbor. It is so fun to decorate your home for the holidays, and really make a day that would otherwise feel as if you were going through the motions feel special. I think that Christmas and Mardi Gras are similar in that there is so much decoration surrounding the holiday, it is hard to have a single day where you aren't feeling more happy than normal! These house floats prove how innovative artists and humans in general can be in the face of adversity, and it really mimics all the changes to almost everything we have had to make as a result of the pandemic. Reading this article was a real joy.
I am so inspired by these housfloats. What a beautiful and lavish way to celebrate in COVID times. Every year I was always so excited to decorate my house for Halloween and every year I was disappointed when no one stopped by to trick or treat and see my magnificent decor. I can only imagine the sense of community one would feel walking through a neighborhood where everyone’s houses were adored with Mardi Gras gear. I am truly in awe over some of these house floats. After reading the article I dug a little deeper to see some more examples and every single one is more gorgeous than the next. I don’t know what they put in the water in New Orleans, but they are churning out some incredible artworks. It's so incredible that professional Mardi Gras artists are stepping up and working with locals to beautify their neighborhoods. This is such a light in these pretty gloomy times.
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