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Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World
story by Kayte Deioma
photos courtesy of Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World
UPDATE: Mardi Gras World relocated across the river. The new address is
1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130 USA.
June 2006 – The Algiers section of New Orleans, on what is known as the “west bank” of the Mississippi (although it is actually south at this point), was unaffected by the floodwaters that deluged everything for miles on the other side of the river
The miles of devastation in New Orleans and surrounding parishes all lie east of the Mississippi River, between the high ground near the river and Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne. Everything on the west bank was spared, including the community of Algiers, home of Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World, where it’s Mardi Gras all year long.
Everything at Mardi Gras World is larger than life. You feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland after eating the cake that makes you smaller and smaller. To enhance the fantasy, you may adorn yourself in Mardi Gras finery to explore the giant floats created over the years by Blaine Kern and a staff of talented artists. Since the 1950’s Blaine Kern has been redefining the Mardi Gras experience with bigger and grander floats designed to last more that one Mardi Gras season. In addition to Mardi Gras, Blaine Kern Studios provide floats, statues and props for theme parks, parades, movie sets and events around the world.
The tour is introduced by a guide and includes a brief film about the history of Mardi Gras and of Blaine Kern studios. You can choose your Mardi Gras regalia – will it be pink feathers and a glittery crown or an armored cloak? Then explore on your own the warehouses full of fiberglass floats including the massive animatronic dragon, Leviathan, that was the largest float in Carnival history when it was created in 1998, or the even larger 5-tandem superfloat, the SS Captain Eddie which took over the record for longest float in the 1999 season.
You will also have the opportunity to visit the studios where designers, painters and sculptors are hard at work repairing and creating characters of all sizes for various purposes. Yellow arrows lead you to the float-building warehouses where carpenters and painters are hard at work constructing floats.
Each tour ends with coffee and a piece of King Cake. Careful where you bite! By tradition each cake contains a tiny plastic doll, the recipient of which buys the next cake.
Located directly across from the French Quarter, Algiers can be reached by driving across the New Orleans Bridge or taking the free ferry from Canal Street. On a rainy day, you might want to drive if you have wheels. The bridge takes you close to Mardi Gras World, but you can also take your car on the ferry for $1. The ferry runs from 6 am to 8:45 pm daily, departing every 15 or 20 minutes, depending on how long it takes to load and unload on each side of the river. The crossing itself only takes about 5 minutes. A shuttle from Mardi Gras World picks up visitors every 15 minutes at the Algiers ferry station. On the return trip, the shuttle makes an optional stop at HooDoo Town.
Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World
233 Newton St.
New Orleans, LA 70114
Phone: (504) 361-7821
Website: www.mardigrasworld.com
Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World is included in the discount New Orleans Pass
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The Motown Museum: Hitsville USA
story by Jamie Rector and Kayte Deioma, photos by Jamie Rector
A downpour somehow seems an appropriate accompaniment to the glorious and gritty soul of Motown, which produced such hits as “I Wish it Would Rain” and “Tears of a Clown.”
The Motown Historical Museum is one of the more popular tourist attractions in Detroit, though you wouldn’t necessarily know it from its location. About 15 minutes from downtown, past an old hospital, in a semi-residential, semi worn-down area, stand the modest buildings of Motown and Hitsville USA. The street in front is lined with tour buses. The two clean and restored houses that comprise the museum were the studio and office area of the Motown Record Corporation from 1959 to 1972 when it moved to Los Angeles. Signs point the way to the visitor entrance.
Making Musical History
Berry Gordy, Jr. started his fledgling record label with an $800 loan from his family. When he bought the first house on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit in 1959 and dubbed it Hitsville USA, he planned to apply the same philosophy to making hit records that the Ford Company applied to producing cars. Starting with Smoky Robinson and the Miracles, Gordy staffed his hit factory with a talented assembly line of song writers, arrangers, house musicians and front line talent to create the unique sound that became known as Motown. The company grew to occupy eight houses on West Grand before moving the headquarters to downtown Detroit and later, Los Angeles.
Just past the friendly guard, a long hallway filled with historic photographs welcomes visitors to the home of funk. All the main players are there: Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, Diana Ross and many other familiar faces.
Tours run continuously, beginning as soon as they have enough people to start. After a brief introduction, and strict instructions to keep the cameras put away, the tour guide walks the group through a series of rooms with more classic photos of legends in their hey day, as well as original record covers, memorabilia, and gold records. The exhibit also includes stage costumes worn by Motown artists including Michael Jackson’s original hat and white sequined glove.
The Michael Jackson memorabilia was once stolen right out the museum. There was no case around it at the time. It didn’t take much clever sleuthing to find the thief. The day it was stolen, there was only one guest – and he signed the guestbook, complete with address. They tracked him down and got the items back. They were so happy to have the pieces back they didn’t even bother to press charges.
The living room, dining room and kitchen of what used to be Berry Gordy’s apartment, is restored to its 1959-60 appearance. Some of the original furniture remains, so it can be seen just the way it was. It is roped off, so you can look but not touch.
After this glimpse into daily life in the Motown house, the tour moves to the backbone of the Motown business – the office where it all began and where artists were signed. There are original notes and paperwork in the office giving it the feel that you have stepped back in time.
Adjacent to the office is the control room and the recording studio. The piano and drum set stand ready for the house band, the Funk Brothers, to walk in and start playing. Having all the singing groups record with the same backup band created that consistency of sound that is so Motown. Although largely unknown as individual musicians, the story of the Funk Brothers’ contribution to the Motown sound has recently been told in the documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Motown. In addition to Funk Brother Earl Van Dyke, the piano was also played by Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, who both broke the Motown assembly line mold by being songwriters, musicians and singers.
You can’t sit at the famous piano, but you might get a chance to stand where icons like Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, the Four Tops and Diana Ross and the Supremes stood to record their chart-smashing hits – an experience not to be missed.
Motown Historical Museum
2648 W. Grand Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan 48208
(313) 875-2264
www.motownmuseum.com