By now most of us have heard the news that parades are cancelled on both the north and south shores this year and I think a lot of us are bummed about that. I’m bummed and I only attend 1-3 parades a year! But then I started hearing things about the “Krewe of Houses” and got interested. What was this? How did it work? Someone added me to the Northshore Krewe page and I found out there was even a theme for the Northshore! I reached out to the organizers and they were nice enough to provide me with a ton of great info that I’m sharing below:
1. First tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you come to live on the Northshore?
The Northshore sub-krewe has two Co-Captains who are pulling together to help Captain our fabulous sub-krewe – Captains Charlie & Captain Carlie
Captain Charlie: I originally moved here from the UK 11 years ago, originally for work (I am an Environmental Scientist) but after marrying a local, I now call Louisiana home. Captain Carlie: the sense of community surrounding families and kids! It has all the beauty and culture of the south shore without the hustle & bustle of the city life. Both of us are active in Mardi Gras every year, we are both members of the Bearded Oysters dance troupe, Charlie is the founder of the NOLA Angels Dance & Social Team, and Carlie usually rides in some of the large Mardi Gras parades. We were both very much missing the excitement in the run up to Mardi Gras, but the Krewe of House Floats has helped with that! We are now spending a lot of our free time making decorations for our “House Floats”.
2. What is the inspiration behind the Krewe of Houses?
The Krewe of House Floats was an idea by our Krewe Founder & Admiral Megan Boudreaux in 2020. The idea behind the Krewe is to offer a people the opportunity to celebrate and enjoy Mardi Gras while also socially distancing. The Krewe was originally planned to be just for the Algiers Point area of New Orleans (where Megan lives), but soon word spread, and now we have 39 sub-krewes covering the whole of Louisiana and beyond! So far (as of this morning) we have over 7,000 followers on Facebook, and over 1,500 Krewe Members signed-up to decorate their houses, or “House Floats”. You can also find lots of useful information on the Krewe website (including Frequently asked questions) at: www.KreweOfHouseFloats.org
3. What should people know if they want to participate? Are their rules, parameters, etc.?
Sign-up for the Krewe closes tomorrow!!!! At the end of Wednesday, January 6th, 2021. If you want to sign-up please go to: www.KreweOfHouseFloats.org/Regiser It is 100% free to sign-up and join the Krewe! Although many have already started planning and making their decorations, Mardi Gras Officially begins, and house float decorating starts, tomorrow – Wednesday, January 6th, 2021. If decorating your house is not something you can or want to do this year, you can still get involved by visiting the House Floats once they are decorated, sharing a video of you dancing the official Krewe of House Floats dance, or donating to one of the many Krewe of House Floats charities! Decorating of House Floats is due to be complete by the end of January, and at the beginning of February a Krewe of House Floats Map will be made publicly available! The map will have the locations of all of the decorated House Floats on, it will also have information about each House Float, such as the ‘House Float Name’, decoration theme, and even a House Float photo! Once the map is made available you are invited to “socially distance” visit (drive, walk, or cycle past) the House Floats and enjoy the decorations and the Mardi Gras sprit! Viewing will be encouraged from the start of February until the end of Mardi Gras Day. On Mardi Gras Day itself we ask that people stay in their local neighborhoods & socially distance visit (drive, walk, cycle past) the decorated House Floats. We do not want to encourage any kind of crowds, and as such we want people to stay local – not all head to one specific location or neighborhood on Mardi Gras Day. On Mardi Gras Day some House Floats are even throwing throws (or socially distantly distributing throws [such as using shoots])!!!!
Key Dates for the Krewe are:
- Sign-Up Closes: Wednesday, January 6th, 2021. • Mardi Gras Officially begins & Decorating can start: Wednesday, January 6th, 2021.
- Decorating Should be Complete: Sunday, January 31st. 2021
- Public Krewe Map Available: Beginning of February 2021
- Viewing of House Floats: From the Start of February until the end of Mardi Gras Day
4. If everything goes perfectly, what do you hope the Krewe of Houses will do for the community?
The whole purpose of the Krewe is to help keep the Mardi Gras sprit alive in the socially distanced world we currently find ourselves in, and allowing people to still enjoy Mardi Gras in 2021 is perhaps the biggest thing we hope to bring to the community from the Krewe. In addition to the fun, the Krewe of House Floats is also aiming to support a number of charities. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a house to call their own, and as our Krewe is all about Mardi Gras at home, we wanted to make our official good cause helping those who do not have a home. We are supporting a number of charities that help the homeless as well as local food banks. Here on the Northshore we are focusing our charity efforts on local Northshore food banks and on charities that help re-home homeless animals. We have already started to collect donations and will continue to do so right up until the end of Mardi Gras. More information on how to get involved will be announced over the coming days and weeks on our Krewe website and Facebook page, as well as on the Northshore sub-krewe Facebook page.
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Well all of this sounds amazing and I can’t wait to see all the House Floats done up on Mardi Gras Day!
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