For months she has been working with staff and volunteers to make plans for our upcoming Congress. But that's not the only way that Kathy participates in the spirit of New Orleans. She is a float building grand-prize winner! Since she was just five years old, building floats has been a family pastime. Now, Bradbury is a part of a team comprised of 12 families who call themselves DSMCCI and work together to turn an 18-wheeler into a grand prize worthy specimen!

Floats are judged on the overall appearance, functionality, a moving part and the riders' costumes. In fact, some of the crew's floats have featured head pieces on the crew, animation and even firecrackers. One of Bradbury's favorite floats, in which her and her team won grand prize, was a "Celebrations of the Year" theme. The float boasted a Santa coming out of a chimney, a mannequin dressed like a Jester, fleur de lis (this is New Orleans!) and other decorations representing Easter, Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's Day.

Kathy admits that while the float building process can be time consuming, it's worth it. The teams assemble a good amount of the float separately, and bring all of the pieces together in the few weeks before the parades. They also try to recycle as much of their previous designs as possible to prevent wasting materials.


The DSMCCI crew took home grand prize for their "Celebrations of the Year" float, in which they stood out among 50 other floats.


The team worked together diligently while creating their St. Patrick's Day float and came home with a grand prize in the end!


The float isn't the only part of the parade that is dressed up! Floats are judged on the riders' costumes as well.