The Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans this year were yet another sad casualty of the pandemic – gone were the lively crowds, beads, parades, music and other blissful eccentricities that are so unique to the city. But to no one’s surprise, nothing can keep those residents down. It was also no surprise to us that longtime AtmosFAN Zach Breaux was one of the many Louisianans who stepped in to keep the Mardi Gras spirit alive.
You may know Zach from his several AtmosFAN of the Week honors, or through his helpful how-to videos posted on his Toil and Trouble’s DIY YouTube channel. Either way, we were used to seeing Zach’s decorations at his Metairie, Louisiana, home around Halloween. That he put something together for Mardi Gras was a surprise – but a delightful one!
What was Zach up to? One of the many cool traditions during Carnival season are the parades with exquisitely detailed floats that wind through the streets of New Orleans. With the parades canceled this year, residents didn’t want to completely abandon their traditions. They decided that, instead of decorating floats for parades, they’d decorate their homes instead and call them “house floats.”
More than 3,000 residents decorated their homes in the New Orleans area this year. And, of course, Zach’s “Voodoo Garden House Float” was one of them.
Zach’s window projection of the “Musical Skeletons” individual decoration from Bone Chillers Digital Decoration Collection – and, particularly the ragtime music the skeletons play – fits perfectly with this house float display. Zach provides a great reminder that AtmosFX Digital Decorations can be used any time of the year – not just for Halloween. Mardi Gras?! Of course!
But what is Zach really proud of? As part of move from parade floats to house floats, he was able to take a class from a professional artist and learn traditional Mardi Gras prop-building methods – some of which are trade secrets. Not only did the classes allow many local artists to make some much-needed income during the canceled Carnival season, but it also allowed people like Zach to develop some new skills. To that point: The paper flowers and the sunflower skull centerpiece he created look great!
“Of course, one thing that sets my house float apart from the rest is the inclusion of digital decorations,” Zach tells us. “I knew from the get-go that Bone Chillers would serve as the perfect backdrop to bring all of the physical decorations together.”
This is such a great story, Zach! We love how you, and your fellow 3,000 house float creators, have banded together to keep these great Mardi Gras traditions alive!
Are there unique ways that you use AtmosFX Digital Decorations? If so, we want to see what you have done! Send your photos and videos to us using this easy submission form!
