PHOTO F17 a__ a_~Birds of Bulbanchaa_T house float (Photo b.jpg

PHOTO F17 –A Roseate Spoonbill greets visitors to the Red Beans’ ‘Birds of Bulbancha’ house float (Photo by Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

One pandemic-era tradition has proven it’s here to stay.

The house float craze is back in full force in the Crescent City, and streets are already lined with elaborately decorated homes showing off the carnival culture.

The house float phenomenon started at the height of the pandemic, when New Orleans was still adapting to its first Mardi Gras under COVID-19 restrictions. On Nov. 17, 2020, Mayor LaToya Cantrell canceled the 2021 Mardi Gras parades amid rising COVID-19 cases across the country.

In response to the cancellation, resident Megan Boudreaux posted to Facebook suggesting people decorate their porches and toss throws.

Boudreaux’s post was met with overwhelmingly positive reactions from locals, who immediately started hopping on the house float trend. The Krewe of House Floats was created by Boudreaux soon after.

Just like traditional parade floats, houses were decorated with art of just about anything – scenes with animals and pop culture references became a common favorite.

Some people even created tribute house floats. In 2021, New Orleans native Tricia Diamond decorated her house float to be a permanent tribute to female musicians of the city. Her design, titled the “New Orleans Queens of Sound and Soul,” was complete with elaborate murals and flags hanging from the property.

2021 also saw the cancellation of New Orleans’ St. Patrick’s parades. After learning about “Shamrock Our Block,” a Chicago-based project where locals competed in house decorating competitions to compensate for the lack of parades that year, resident Brian Moore revamped the house float trend for St. Patrick’s Day.

Even as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, house floats continued beyond 2021. For Mardi Gras 2022, residents Laura and Ed Moise turned their second floor balcony into a glowing flower garden. Their home featured colorful paper-maché plants and carnivorous flowers hanging from their home. At night, the sculptures lit up the street. 

Locals have already taken to social media to post this year’s house floats. One Constance Street home is adorned with decorative flowers and large artworks on the porch and fence depicting Danny Barker, a New Orleans jazz musician who gained popularity in the 1930s.

House floats have spread to other cities throughout the state, including Lafayette, whose reportedly first house float was unveiled this year.

Stronghold Studios, New Orleans' self-proclaimed “House Float Headquarters,” is the company behind many of the art installations seen on house floats. According to their website, they help customers design and install art, all created by local artists, onto their homes.

The company designed this year’s Tulane Alumni house, which features cotton candy-themed art to represent their recent Cotton Bowl win.

A Google Map showing addresses of house floats created by Stronghold Studios can be viewed here.

While house floats began as a way to lift spirits and adapt to 2021's COVID carnival, we can expect to see the trend continue for years to come.

Send in your house float pictures from this year to online@theadvocate.com

Email Gabby Jimenez at Gabby.Jimenez@TheAdvocate.com.