DIY Parade Float Design • 7 Quick Tips7/5/2012 9 Comments Independence day has been filled with parades for a very long time for me. The marching bands are what the Boyfriend likes best but my favs are the floats.I'm delighted and it's almost like being a kid again. I had another chance to do a parade float this year. Part of me really enjoys it and another part doesn't. It's a great creative DIY outlet that's a lot of fun but the uncertainty of how to do it and if it will turn out is a challenge. Some people think it will come togetherautomaticallybecause you're a creative and that it's no big deal, whlie others think it isn't going to work out at all. In the process, you'll swing back and forth like a pendulum.
There's a lot of people web searching this time of year for DIY float building info. Last year's 5 Parade Float Quick Tips (found here)has been viewed and reused. So, I thought I'd share 7 ideas about parade float designing.
Still working on last minute taping things down Parade Float Designing • 7 Quick TipsSince the float this year had a fish theme I thought I'd play that up with the tips. #1 Fish for the Big Picture You're likely doing this for an organization of some type. Think of their purposes for wanting the float. What do they hope for an outcome? Are they interested in the process and having a lot of people involved? Or is it an outreach in the community? Or is it a tradition of fun? Or is it to show a strong brand? Whatever the reason, you should understand it. This float was about involving people in the process, name recognition in the community, and a Christian message. People: We had about 40 people work on the float
Recognition: Passing out info cards & candy during the parade
Message: Free to be Fishers of Men - Bible verse used as the message
#2 Fish for an Original IdeaIt all comes down to having an idea. Sometimes that can be hard to do. One tip is to look for inspiration to borrow and then make it your own. Here are 2 inspiration images that I found. I liked the idea of dots and stripes. I thought that would be easy for our group of varying ages to do. I also borrowed the color scheme of the group of Nassos' fish. Here's how our fish turned out. We made them out of paper plates, poster board, & paper mache.
Another idea I borrowed was from Helen Friel's paper work of an underwater scene that displays jewelry. I took her small version and went up in scale by a lot. You can see that ours doesn't look like Helens but that you can see the similarity of the borrow. I used foam core (instead of plywood) so that we could have many young people involved in the cutting and painting.
#3 Fish for the LoveYou're going to be with this idea awhile. Make sure you love it so that you can hang in there with it. Nothing says failure like hating an idea. #4 Fish for SolutionsThings just aren't going to go 100% your way. Have that in your head at the start so when it comes up you already knew it would. Listen to others ideas during the process. #5 Fish till the EndDon't give up. Sometimes things don't look like they're going to work out, only to be proved wrong. Stick with it. Creativity is often messy in the middle. #6 Fish for HarmonyWith a big group, you're likely to have a wide range of interest and skill levels. To make it look good and like everyone worked together keep a 1) limited color palette, 2) repetitive shapes,and 3) easy to accomplish tasks. #7 Fish for the Wow!Wow them in some way. Surprise them with something a little different. Make it stand out - in a good way. For this float I had the whale shoot water out of its spout. The crowd loved it especially since it was hot. I left an opening in the top of the whale and had one of my kids sit inside with buckets of water and a pool water shooter. You can see him trying it out on a passing friend. During the parade he was hidden from view. The water shot up about 15 feet in the air. It worked perfectly.
Hope these tips help you in your parade float madness. I don't know if I'll be asked to do a float next year but if I do I'll read through my own notes as a reminder but until then we'll say good-bye to float building.
9 Comments Meri Beth young 9/24/2013 08:49:41 am What is the water made of and how did you do it? Thank you Reply Shannonlink 9/24/2013 10:40:11 am Hi Meri Beth, I used foam core board available at any craft store. Cut it out with exacto knives and scissors and painted it with acrylic paints. The youth did it. Hope that helps. Reply wendy 7/5/2015 02:06:39 pm How did you make the whale? What is it made of? Reply Shannonlink 7/6/2015 09:34:53 am Hi Wendy, The whale is made out of plywood. Each side is made from one 4' x 8' piece of (1/2" or 3/4") plywood. So, 2 pieces of 4'x 8' plywood are needed for the sides. The sides of the whale are joined together by 2" x 4"s. There were about 4-6 on the front section and 6-8 on the back section. You can make them as wide as you want. Ours were probably about 3' - 4' across. These boards are what give it stability and hold it together. Then we cut another piece of plywood that was thinner (1/4" - 1/2" I can't remember) and made slats to nail over the top of the 2" x 4"s. This is just for looks. It was nailed to the edges of the whale sides. We also left an opening in the top of the whale for a person to get in and out of. We had that person shoot water out of the top of the whale like a whale's spout. The whale was used in someone's yard for their kids after we were done. Hope you have fun with your project. Reply Wendy 7/6/2015 11:49:10 am Thank you! Our church is looking to build its presence in parades and we LOVED this one! Going to attempt it next year for 4th of July VBS float. TBD, wish us luck! teresa gagne 5/22/2023 07:30:55 pm Wondering what you made the whale out of and how did you attatch it? 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