NEW ORLEANS, La. — You just can’t keep a good city down, especially when Mardi Gras is coming.
All around New Orleans, thousands of houses are being decorated as floats because the coronavirus outbreak canceled the elaborate parades mobbed by crowds during the Carnival season and on Fat Tuesday.
Some smaller groups announced no-parade plans before the city did.
But the “house float” movement started almost as soon as a New Orleans spokesman announced in November that parades were off for the season.
Megan Joy Boudreaux says it started as a joke on Twitter, but she began to like the idea and started a Facebook group called the Krewe of House Floats. Nearly 40 subgroups evolved to discuss neighborhood plans.
Organizers told The Associated Press that they’re asking participants to have their homes decorated at least two weeks before Fat Tuesday, which is Feb. 16.
Neighborhoods have picked different themes. One woman told AP that her block’s theme is Shark Week staycation paradise. Some are incorporating pandemic themes, while others are taking more transitional routes.
And in the spirit of helping others in need, organizers are suggesting people hire or buy from Carnival artists who are out of work due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
