Krewe of KOLOSSOS

A fleet of canoes, kayaks, rubber rafts and other small vessels took to the brown waters of Bayou St. John in Mid-City this hot afternoon to celebrate Independence Day bohemian-style as part of the Krewe of Kolossos July 4th Flotilla. Artist/activist Katrina Brees, the co-founder of the Carnival krewe Kolossos, best known for its tiny bicycle floats, led a haphazard band of red, white and blue-clad krewe members around the water's edge in a parade that blended a traditional patriotic procession with a New Orleans neighborhood second line.

After the brass band concluded "When the Saints Go Marching In," Brees, dressed in a stars and bars costume, stepped to the edge of the bayou to introduce the 2014 king and queen: second-liner Darryl "DancingMan504" Young, and hat-maker/baker/makeup master Midori Mame Tajiri-Byrd. Brees then evoked the spirit of freedom as she jabbed at the sky with her golden sword.

Like Louis Armstrong, Brees has adopted July 4 as her birthday. Naturally, the brass band was prepared to play "Happy Birthday" as the crowd sang. With that, applause and dancing ensued. The captains of the tiny boats in the bayou steered them in celebratory voyages from no place in particular to no place in particular.

The winged patriotic canoe with the swan's head stood out as the most eye-catching of the aquatic mini floats. In the American tradition of freedom of speech, one vessel had been designed to protest the incarceration of a computer hacker. A kayak coated in gold Mylar ruffle, glinted as it zigzagged swiftly between the less ambitious boats. Paddle-boarders struggled to maintain their balance, as paddle-boarders do. The sun turned the placid surface of the water to a skein of chrome shards.

Meanwhile, the banks of the bayou were like a painting by Seurat, crowded with picnickers sipping from wine glasses as they languidly watched the waterborne activity. A firecracker or two prematurely popped. Babies explored blankets. Dogs tested the limits of their leashes. The smell of barbecue wafted. As the sun began to descend, the third annual Krewe of Kolossos July 4th Flotilla seemed to be a success. On the warm holiday afternoon, the relatively quiet, charmingly directionless event seemed able to bring the younger neo-hippies in the water into philosophical harmony with the older former hippie property owners in the surrounding neighborhood. It's an event that has a short past, but may have a long future. - NOLA.com

Why I chose it: To my eye, Carnival is the Crescent City's greatest folk art tradition. This year, parade producer Brian Kern and artist Katrina Brees teamed up to try to transform Carnival into a locally sourced event by throwing mostly Louisiana-made baubles and edibles from their Halloween parade floats. Throw me some activism, mister. - New Orleans Museum of Art NOLA.com

Favorite marching group in Carnival: Kolossos.
"Best of all was the mini Krewe of Kolossos that rides wonderfully whacky bicycle floats. In 2014, Kolossos seems to have reached critical mass." - NOLA.com