Uptown Messenger photo
“The Night Tripper” at 1834 Toledano St.
The first of the “house floats” that will be dotting our urban landscape this Carnival season has already made an appearance Uptown.
Sponsored by the Krewe of Red Beans and called “Hire a Mardi Gras Artist,” the idea is to put those out-of-work artists — usually frantically designing and painting floats this time of year — back to work. With parades canceled, many Mardi Gras float artists found themselves suddenly unemployed.
One of those artists, Caroline Thomas, proposed the idea to the Krewe of Red Beans to create a crowd-funding site to finance house decorations that could look like floats. The initiative helps keep our Mardi Gras artists afloat while creating a Carnival atmosphere in our neighborhoods.
“We are excited to see what everyone does with their houses — and also thrilled to showcase the amazing Mardi Gras talent we have in New Orleans,” said Devin DeWulf, the Krewe of Red Beans’ founder and captain.
People who contribute to the fund are automatically entered into a lottery so their home could be selected to be decorated by a team of Mardi Gras artists. There is also a direct commission option.
The homeowners of the first installation worked with designer Caroline Thomas to create an homage to Dr. John, “The Night Tripper.” The result can be seen at 1834 Toledano St.
The krewe estimates that eight jobs can be created for each house, and the goal is to raise enough funding to be able to decorate 40 homes around town.
Uptown Messenger photo
Designer Caroline Thomas worked with the homeowners to create an homage to Dr. John, “The Night Tripper.”
Still putting up our MG decorations. Just us, inside, but a way to say, See you Next Year.!!!!!