New Orleans, LA – For an up close look at the floats of Mardi Gras and Carnival Parades, anyone visiting New Orleans should tour Mardi Gras World. Located along the Hop On/Hop Off Bus Loop, Mardi Gras World is the location of Kern Studios Mardi Gras float construction. The entrance to the building is well marked. Once you are inside Mardi Gras World, you will be surrounded by props which are the items used to decorate the floats.
Entrance to Mardi Gras World
Inside Mardi Gras World you will be surrounded by props
The early days of what has grown into Kern Studios started with Roy Kern, a local artist-turned-sign-painter who worked his way through the Depression by painting names and signs on the bows of freighters and barges. Roy and his son Blaine built their first Mardi Gras float together on the back on a mule-drawn wagon in 1932. Unable to pay his mother’s medical bills, Blaine offered to paint a mural in the hospital, which caught the eye of a surgeon who was also the captain of a Mardi Gras Krewe. This captain invited Blaine to design and build floats for his Krewe, and Kern Studios was officially founded in its current form in 1947. One float led to another, and before long Blaine became the city’s leading parade designer and builder, working with Rex, Zulu and other legendary krewes.
Float props are reused whenever possible
In 1984, Mardi Gras World was created as a tourist attraction to provide visitors a behind-the-scenes look at their work. Widely successful, the attraction draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year. Admission to the tour is collected in the gift shop. Each visitor is given a bead necklace to wear as your ticket. The tour starts from the gift shop and first includes an informative video about the history and story of Kern Studios. We learned that in addition to Mardi Gras floats, Kern Studios has made floats and/or props for Disney, casinos, and other business.
Wizard of Oz props
A Mardi Gras float
Some fun facts about Mardi Gras/Carnival season: the most recent season included 54 parades and featured 1,061 floats, 588 marching bands, and more than 135,000 participants. The combined parade routes covered 301 miles and the processions were on the street for 204 hours.
The day after Mardi Gras Day there were floats parked outside waiting to be parked for storage
The tour through the workshop was led by a tour guide who explained what was happening in each area. Floats are planned a year in advance and the studio was working on Mardi Gras 2019 floats while we toured. Each krewe works with an artist to provide the theme and what floats under that theme the krewe envisions. The artist creates drawings that are approved by the krewe and then produced by Kern Studios. We learned that the floats are reused each year. A float base is a wagon with 100% rubber tires (no air in them) to prevent flats during parades. A base float without any decorations costs about $20,000 to first build.
The tires are all rubber with no air to prevent flats during parades
Artist’s rendering of a float for the Orpheus Krewe
Each krewe has a different theme every year, but themes can be repeated by other krewes. This is one way that props can be reused. Sometimes a prop is ready to go as is. Other times the prop may need to be reconfigured slightly. We learned that props can be made from styrofoam or fiberglass.
Cajun chef prop is made from fiberglass
Props are built on wooden bases for transporting and placing on/off floats
Styrofoam props are less expensive and lighter. Styrofoam pieces are glued together in stacks until they are large enough to make the prop. A drawing of the prop can be projected onto the styrofoam so an outline can be drawn. An artist then uses a knife and scraper to cut and shape the styrofoam to the shape desired. Once the final shape is reached, the styrofoam then has paper mache applied to the exterior. The paper mache prop is then painted. Each prop is built on a wooden platform that is used to move it around on the ground and to lift it on/off of floats.
Pieces of styrofoam are glued together until large enough for the 3-D rendering of a prop
Rex prop and float drawing
An artist works to carve the styrofoam into the final shape of the prop
After paper mache is applied to the styrofoam, the props are painted
Paint storage
Some newer props and floats include fiber optic lighting which looks like this on the inside
Fiberglass props are made from a mold created by the artist. They are more durable, weigh more and cost more to produce. Kern Studios recently invested in a computerized 3-D laser sculpting robot. Artists can create a 2 dimensional drawing which is entered into a computer and then turned into a 3-D image. The sculpting robot can then create the sculpture from the computer model. An example of fiber glass props are the 3-D cows on Chik-Fil-A billboards, which are made by Kern Studios.
Chik-Fil-A cow made from fiberglass
The 3-D sculpting robot
After walking through the studio and seeing how the props are made, the tour travels through the areas where floats and props are stored. Visitors are able to walk around and check out the floats and props. Visitors are not allowed to climb onto the floats. There is an opportunity to try on some costumes and everyone is given a piece of King Cake.
Parade floats are on display year round at Mardi Gras World
More floats and props
Coin props
Dr. Seuss themed prop for the Krewe of Muses
Props and extra pieces of styrofoam at Mardi Gras World
Float entrance doors are hidden by exterior artwork
We really enjoyed our tour of Mardi Gras World. They are open 7 days a week, from 9:00am to 5:30pm, with the first tour beginning at 9:30am and last tour beginning at 4:00pm. Mardi Gras World is closed on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and, of course, Mardi Gras Day. Adult admission is $22 (2018). Discount coupons of $2 off are available, we got a coupon from our Hop On/Hop Off Tour Bus. Mardi Gras World also offers a shuttle with details available on their website. While in New Orleans we also toured the French Quarter; attended Carnival and Mardi Gras Day parades and toured the National WWII Museum and the New Orleans Jazz Museum. We traveled by car for a little under an hour to tour Oak Alley Plantation. We were staying in our RV at the Pontchartrain Landing RV Park.
