"Zoom out. What’s this place all about?An anonymous warehouse by the Port of New Orleans is home to a huge working studio, and inside, it looks like something akin to a movie production. It’s not somewhere you’d pass by ordinarily, but most tour companies and hotels will promote it. What will we find in the collection?It’s not so much a collection as it is a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into the country's biggest free party–Mardi Gras. The huge floats take months to build and decorate, and this is where a large part of that happens. Painters and sculptures are actually working on pieces as you walk through, and it feels like being let in on a secret. The space houses whatever is being built that year, so it’s luck of the draw what you see—although just nearly all the floats are impressive in their scale and level of detail. Do we need a guide?It’s a guided tour–you can't just wander around on your own given the working nature of the venue. Thankfully, the tour delivers fascinating historical context to the festival, and dives into the significance of each of the floats and the various organizations they belong to. Any advice for the time- or attention-challenged?The tour lasts 90 minutes, the perfect amount of time here, and you'll leave with a renewed appreciation of all those Mardi Gras floats and festivities." - Paul Oswell
