WHAT
WHAT TIME
WHAT TIME I THINK IS INTERESTING IS SEEING HOW THE
PARADES AND THE FLOATS HAVE
GOTTEN MORE SOPHISTICATED.
IT LOOKS LIKE A 1950 ROCKET
SHIP AND YOU THINK OF LAST
YEAR'S PARADE AND ALL OF THE
FLOATS IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE
HOW THINGS HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE A
JOHNATHON IS AN AMAZING MASTER
FLOAT DESIGNER OUT OF NEW
ORLEANS.
ORLEANS.
ORLEANS. IT'S TRADITIONAL FOR HIS
FAMILY.
FAMILY.
FAMILY. HIS DADDY WAS A FLOAT DESIGNER.
IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY.
>> CAME FROM ITALY WHEN I WAS
10 AND WE ARE FROM AN ITALIAN
TOWN, IT'S THEY ARE WORLD
FAMOUS FOR THEIR FLOATS THEY
BUILD INCREDIBLE CARNIVAL
FLOAT.
FLOAT.
FLOAT. MY
FLOAT. MY FATHER, MY UNCLES ALL WORKED
BUILDING FLOATS THERE.
MY DAD TAUGHT ME MAKING MOLDS,
SCULPTING, PAINTING.
SCULPTING, PAINTING. THERE'S A LOT OF MECHANICAL AND
STRUCTURAL WE DO A LOT OF
WELDING ANDCARPENTRY.
WELDING ANDCARPENTRY. I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT
>> . THE WAY THEY BUILD FLOATS
IS AN ART.
WE ACTUALLY PARTNERED THE
PARADE AT FOLEY'S PARTNERED
WITH UNIVERSALS STUDIOS IN 1992
AND THEY BUILT THIS BACK TO THE
FUTURE FLOAT THAT WAS
UNBELIEVABLE THERE WAS THIS
ENORMOUS KING KONG FLOAT AND AS
THE YEARS PROGRESSED AND PEOPLE
USED HYDRAULICS AND TECHNOLOGY,
THAT ADDED ANOTHER ELEMENT OF
HOW THEY COULD MOVE AND WHAT
THEY LOOKED LIKE.
>> WHEN I WAS A KID, I WOULD
ASK MY FATHER, HOW DO YOU DO
THAT?
THAT?
THAT? I
THAT? I WOULD CRAWL UNDERNEATH TRYING
TO GET IN AND SEE HOW THEY WERE
BUILT.
BUILT.
BUILT. TO
BUILT. TO ME, IT WAS MAGIC.
IT ALL STARTS WITH A THEME
EVERY YEAR THEY HAVE A THEME.
FROM THE THEME, WE SKETCH, WE
GO FROM A THUMBNAIL SKETCH TO A
COMPLETE FULL SKETCH, FULL
COLOR.
COLOR.
COLOR. THAT GETS SUBMITTED ONCE IT'S
APPROVED, WE START BUILDING.
>> WHEN I TOOK OVER, WE DIDN'T
HAVE ANY FLOATS THAT WE KEPT IN
THIS INVENTORY, IT WAS TIME FOR
NOT JUST A REFRESH, IT WAS TIME
FOR A REMAKE.
AND SO THE FIRST PERSON WE
TURNED TO WAS JOHNATHON WHOSE
AMAZING COMPANY.
AMAZING COMPANY. OUR OTHER FLOATS COME FROM
HOUSTON ARTISTS, THEY WERE
NEVER IN THE FLOAT BUSINESS.
DESIGNING A FLOAT FOR A PARADE,
A MOVING FLOAT AND OFTEN THE
FLOATS ARE ANIMATED, THAT'S
TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN A VISUAL
ART PIECE THAT OUR COMPETITOR
ARTISTS TYPICALLY WORK ON.
TO WATCH THEM JUST GET EXCITED
ABOUT A DIFFERENT STYLE OF
FLOAT HAS REALLY, I THINK, ALSO
ADDED SO MUCH DEPTH OF CREATIVE
TO THE OVERALL PARADE.
IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK
WITH HOUSTON ARTISTS A STAND
OUT FOR ME, WAS JIM, HE'S
DESIGNED MANY FLOATS FOR US
THROUGHOUT THE COMPETITION AND
THE FIRST FLOAT DESIGN HE
SHARED WITH ME WAS BASED ON THE
CITY OF HOUSTON LOGO.
>> THE FLOAT HAS BECOME THE
ICONIC REPRESENTATION OF
HOUSTON ON PARADE IT'S OUR CITY
SEAL FLOAT AND SYMBOLIZES MBOLI
VISIONARY.
VISIONARY. >> THAT FLOAT IS BEING USED TO
THIS DAY.
THIS DAY.
THIS DAY. EVEN THOUGH THESE FLOATS WE'RE
USING ARE ONLY 20 FEET LONG,
THAT'S A LOT OF TERRITORY TO
COVER.
COVER.
COVER. WHENYOU'RE GOING TO BUILDING
SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE MOVED
DOWNTOWN AND PIECED TOGETHER
FOR THE PARADE, THESE ARE A LOT
OF ELEMENTS THAT COME TOGETHER.
THESE ARE NOT SINGLE-PERSON
PROJECTS.
PROJECTS.
PROJECTS. TO HAVE IT ALL COME TOGETHER
AND THE TRIPS WITH ALL OF THE
POLICE AND THEIR BIG MOTORCADE
THEY TAKE US DOWN TO THE PARADE
GROUNDS AROUND THE DOWNTOWN
AREA TO BE DOWN THERE WHEN THE
SUNRISES, TO SEE ALL OF THAT
LIGHT AND SPARKLE DOWN THERE
AND ALL THOSE PEOPLE AND THE
ONES TO ENJOY THE PARADE, IT'S
AMAZING TO EXPERIENCE THAT.
>> YOU CAN NOT HAVE A PARADE
WITHOUT FLOATS, YOU CAN NOT
HAVE A PARADE WITHOUT BALLOONS,
BALLOONS ARE JUST FUN.
>> PROBABLY AROUND 9 YEARS
WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING BALLOONS
OUR FIRST PARADE IN HOUSTON WAS
2001.
2001.
2001. WE
2001. WE HAVE SOME GREAT LICENSED
CHARACTERS WITH OUR THE DR.
SEUSS BALLOONS, WE HAVE THE
CATERPILLARS, WE HAVE A 50-FOOT
INFLATABLE, ANOTHER TIME WE
BROUGHT A SIMPLE BLACK AND
WHITE JERSEY COW, SET HER ON A
PLATFORM, THAT WAS FUN.
LOOKS GOOD.
LOOKS GOOD. TO FEEL THE HELIUM BALLOON,
DEPENDING ON THE SIZE, A 55-
FOOT CAT IN THE HAT, WE FILL
THOSE IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES WE NU
SLOW BECAUSE WE WANT THE HELIUM
TO GET TO THE AIR TEMPERATURE,
GET IT JUST WHERE WE WANT IT
LIFT-WISE AND WE MIGHT TOP IT
OFF WITH AIR.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE
HANDLERS, TEACHING THEM HOW TO
HANDLE THE BALLOONS
>> WE MAKE A LOT OF INDUSTRIAL
GASES HERE AND HELIUM IS ONE OF
THEM WE FILL UP A TRUCK AT THE
CRACK OF DAWN AND DRIVE IT INTO
THE CITY AND FILL BALLOONS BY
5:00 A.M.
5:00 A.M.
5:00 A.M. IN THE MORNING
>> THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO GET IT
DONE JUST IN TIME AND THE
PARADE ALWAYS SEEMS TO GO OFF
WITHOUT A HITCH, WHICH IS
AMAZING WHEN YOU THINK OF THE
DIFFERENT FLOATS YOU HAVE TOM
THE TURKEY, YOU HAVE DR. SEUSS,
YOU'VE GOT THAT GIANT SHOPPING
CART WITH PEOPLE RIDING IN IT.
THE ART CARS, THE SHRINERS
THERE WITH THEIR GO KARTS.
YOU HAVE GUYS