New Orleans is the center of the Mardi Gras universe. Mardi Gras in the Crescent City is outrageous, outlandish, and outstanding. The society parties start on Twelfth Night, January 6, and continue through Fat Tuesday, which this year is February 16. Parades start around the first of February, and continue...

New Orleans has more than 50 Mardi Gras parades. Each parade has numerous floats. This begs a serious question: Where do all those floats come from? Some people still make their own floats, but the vast majority are made by Kern Studios, the reigning King of Mardi Gras float makers. The Kern family has...