Happy Fat Tuesday, everybody! I'm stuck in Humboldt County for Mardi Gras, which isn't a bad thing--there's a massive hippie samba troupe up here that helps salve the pain. I wanted to help you celebrate Mardi Gras by posting some (admittedly blurry) pictures that I took with my iPhone during a drip to Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in New Orleans last October.
Flickr photo of Roller Derby at Mardi Gras World by mellinnis
If you've never been there, Mardi Gras world is worth the trip. Just take the Algiers ferry and walk a few blocks to their warehouses. Blaine Kern is the most venerable creator of Mardi Gras floats and props in Louisiana. The lion's share of floats are born and bred under one roof, and you can visit them year-round. If you're lucky, you can even catch some Roller Derby action (see above).
Touring Mardi Gras world is like touring the recesses of the American psyche. Half-forgotten images from popular culture mingle with all manner of masked and beaded figures. Gigantic foam Hannibal Lecter figures live right next to monsters from Where the Wild Things Are and a Mr. Potato Head dressed up as a nurse. Immaculately made Pixar characters rub elbows with "Rock 'em Sock 'em" Robots and papier mache heads of Salvador Dali, Eddie Murphy and Richard Nixon.
The best part of Mardi Gras world is getting to see how the floats are created. It certainly isn't the most environmentally sustainable process, to say the least. Sheets of foam are individually cut, stacked and glued together with industrial-grade adhesives. Then, sculptors jump in with electric carving knives (think Thanksgiving) to sculpt the figures. After the figures have been sculpted, legions of airbrushers finish the job, with buttery, realistic paint jobs. The unfinished foam pieces you see above were just waiting to be carved into figures from the Halo video game.
Your visit to Mardi Gras world wouldn't be complete without a visit to their theater, where you can watch a documentary (narrated by Harry Connick Jr., natch). After the documentary, you're allowed to try on their collection of Mardi Gras capes, masks, papier mache heads and headdresses. The photo session is, of course, accompanied by a delicious piece of King Cake and a cup of coffee. After you're energized by your snack, you're allowed to explore the museum to your heart's content. I'm not telling you what I had to do to get the beads I'm wearing.
