NEW ORLEANS — Mardi Gras has long been used to send messages through satire and art, but one woman decided she wanted to use the latest carnival tradition to celebrate a life and call for healing.
The pandemic may have stopped Mardi Gras parades, but it couldn't stop us from celebrating on Fat Tuesday. That's when house floats began.
“It's a testimony to when we couldn't be together, and we're really keeping that memory going,” said Coco Darrow, owner and creative director of Stronghold Studios in Mid-City.
More than a dozen artists at Stronghold Studios keep getting more and more orders for Yardi Gras displays every year, but this year, they got a different type of phone call from someone who wanted a display that sent a strong message.
“This is a celebration of Revell's life. You know, we don't want to just remember how he died, but how he lived and what he meant to his friends and his family,” said Carol Kolinchak, who lives in Bywater.
She decided she wanted to celebrate the life of her Godchild's best friend, Revell Andrews, one of the many teens taken from us by gun violence.
“The kids loved it. The parents really just said, ‘This is a good idea. Go with it,’” said Kolinchak.
When it was installed, his friends came by and celebrated... with what else?? King cake.
"I love it. I can't even express my words for real. Just love to have him here, know what I'm saying, really feel like he is next to me right here," Hector Campbell said.
Artists got to work on the positive life that Revell lived: a straight A student and gifted sousaphonist.
"If you think about it, it really makes sense in a city like New Orleans that uses joy and music and art to celebrate and connect with each other and help us heal," Darrow said.
We accept too much violence in New Orleans. We've lost too many young people. This one hits home for me, but every one of them hits home for somebody," Kolinchak said.
His image is near his cousin's late trumpet player Travis Hill, with his lyrics trumpets, not guns.
"If a kid has a horn in his hand, he doesn't have a gun, and he's not going to make a reckless decision that he can never change," Kolinchak said.
Some of the other house float themes range from the city's potholes to Willie Nelson for president.
For a map of all the houses and more on the sale of big decorative flowers they create, click here.
The art flower sale is Saturday, February 3, from noon to 4 p.m.
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