MIAMI – Artists shared a look at the process to create the 11 floats for the 46th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Miami with Local 10′s Terrell Forney.
The creators started their work on the floats set to make their way down 54th Street in Miami on Monday, several weeks ago in Deland, Florida.
About a dozen of the finished floats came in on Sunday for the big day. Getting the floats situated is a job that comes with its own set of challenges.
“We had three blowouts on three floats, so the second wave had to come while they’re fixing their floats, so it’s just a part of a job. All we see is the finished product when you out there cheering, you don’t know the hard work that goes behind it,” said Larry Askew Jr., who transports the parade floats.
Every piece onboard is carefully placed and tightly secured. One of the final jobs involved stripping away a mesh covering around sensitive decorations.
“This helps us keep it from strewing it all down the highway,” said one of the float workers.
So many hands go into creating these floats for special occasions. It all starts with a slab of wood, so many tiny fixtures, carpentry, and other items that are placed on top, so much so that in the end, all of the floats have their own unique vibe.
Dr. Delvena Thomas, a board-certified psychiatrist, prepped her own float for the parade, aimed at erasing the stigma around mental health.
“My float is colorful; it has the words brain love because I think that really resonates with people. It’s a feeling of euphoria, it feels nice. It feels like you’re doing something for the community. That you’re giving back and showing them that people care,” said Thomas.
Care on full display can be seen a dozen times over on the floats, for what is supposed to be a National Day of Service.
“I think the colors will be popping,” said Thomas.
These floats get a lot of exposure. The base of the mobile contraptions is used in many holiday parades outside of MLK weekend. But the designs change each and every time to make them special.