2015 PARADE FLOAT
BUILDERS MANUAL
OCTOBER 31, 2015, 7pm
KEY WEST
Live the Theme
Use the Fantasy Fest theme to inspire your creative
energy. Dream big! Pull out all the stops! Impress the
judges and photographers with a spectacular, jaw-
dropping creation. Send the crowd home with vivid
memories of YOUR rolling creation!
Take Home an Award
The judges will award points for each entry based on
creativity, costumes, and entertainment value. As
you're designing, think about which award you'd like
to put on your mantel and push your design to its
creative limits!
Tips from the Professionals
The interweb is an awesome place to get some inspiration and advice. We've collected a few
sites that are worth exploring... but there are hundreds more you can find with a simple search.
•
Here's a step-by-step guide from Valley Decorating in Fresco, California, on how to
build a parade float from scratch:
www.valleydecorating.com/howto.html
They also have a whole section of ideas, instructions on calculating how much stuff
you'll need.
•
This "Build a Parade Float" guide seems very familiar...
http://www.fbsind.com/FLOATS/Buildafloat.htm
And it includes links to a couple of videos that you might find helpful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2AFO3jI9Qo
•
City of Greenville Special Events Coordinator Will Young interviews "Float Guru"
Donnie Whitmire. Donnie gives his Tope 5 tips for building an award-winning parade
float.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzfeO5kM3VU
(The actual tips start around 1:50)
•
How To Build A Mardi Gras Float - 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krV8sT-
wxVE
Tips from the Pro-Ams
•
Here's a fantastic step-by-step guide created by local talents, The Minions, at
IslandAlien.com:
http://islandalien.com/minions/ultimateguide/index.htm
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As well as some fantastic inspiration from past award winners:
http://www.islandalien.com/minions/bestfloats/index.htm
•
The organizers of North Carolina Pride have created an informative, printable guide
that's worth a look. Not all of the suggestions will work in the Fantasy Fest Parade, but
many of them can be modified or augmented to be suitable.
www.ncpride.org/pride/library/articles/floatbuilding.pdf
•
"The Authoritative Guide on How to Build a Float" from The Victory Corporation.
http://www.golfcartparade.com/how_to_build_floats.pdf
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Victory also provides a free, downloadable e-book with "complete and detailed tips
and plans."
http://www.victorycorps.com/parade-float-planning
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The folks at Colorado State University say building a float "isn't as hard as you might
think. The hardest part is coming up with a unique idea that fits with this year's
theme." They have some good ideas and checklists that may be helpful during
building and the day of the parade. Check out the extra links near the bottom of the
page, too.
http://www.homecoming.colostate.edu/float-manual-1.aspx
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WikiHow includes a whole list of things to think about while you're designing your float
along with "Tips," "Warnings," and "Things You'll Need."
http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Float
•
The Lancaster, Ohio, Fourth of July Parade committee created quite the printable
manual:
http://fourthofjulylancaster.com/Float_Manual.pdf
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So did the folks in Upper Arlington:
Upper Arlington Civic Association’s 4th of July Celebration
http://directors1933.uaca.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Float-Building-
Manual.pdf
•
For an oldie-but-goodie, here's the 1956 edition of Vaughn's Parade and Float Guide
for download.
http://archive.org/details/paradefloatguide00vaug
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And a 1978 version for Vaughn's float kit:
http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0002/7401/20080724020635928.pdf
