By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
You won’t be tossed a high-heeled stiletto decorated for Mardi Gras from a float in Galveston. You’ll have to go to New Orleans for that. But in Galveston, you might get a jazzed-up flip-flop.
The Krewe of Gambrinus, which includes about 250-260 individuals, will be distributing for the second year their hand-decorated flip-flops during the evening Gambrinus parade on Saturday, February 22.
Their decorated flip-flops are known as a type of “signature throw.” Signature throws originated in New Orleans sometime in the 1940s and are catching on — or are being tossed — to other Mardi Gras celebrations in other cities.
Signature throws are items that krewes on a Mardi Gras float have lovingly handmade, or hand decorated to pass out along their parade routes.
Erica McCarty is the Krewe of Gambrinus member who enticed the krewe into creating a signature throw for their floats. She wanted something that would fit into the island vibe and would be a good match for the family-friendly environment of Galveston’s Mardi Gras parades.
“We needed something that represented the casual beach feeling of Galveston, and plus, a flip-flop is soft and lightweight,” Erica explained.
The flip-flop starts out soft, lightweight and easily tossed, but it can grow to be a bit heavier as it comes to feature intricate handcrafted designs.
One designer came up with the idea of representing the famous Clydesdale horses in a parade.
She ordered her little replica horses from Amazon and touched up their hoof areas with white nail polish to give them the appearance of having the long silky hairs that Clydesdales have on their legs. Along with the replica horses her flip-flops host replicas of the wagon pulled by the Clydesdales, as well as replicas of palm trees, Mardi Gras beads, Mardi Gras floats and court jesters. Before she added all the items on top, she smothered her flip-flops with glue, then doused them with gold glitter.
Another designer elected to create a replica of her favorite New Orleans Oyster bar. Atop her flip-flops sit a fully loaded table with oysters, shrimp, steins of beer, king cake, tartar sauce, remoulade sauce, butter sauce, all the utensils needed to eat with, and if you look closer, you will find more items. At each end of the table are two people dressed for the occasion.
The oyster-bar look is completed with all the décor found at the restaurant, including a red-and-white checkered tablecloth and a black-and-white checkered floor. She made about 24 of her designs, which she will pass out at the parade.
Some other decorations, such as children’s sunglasses, can be removed from the flip-flops and enjoyed. These embellishments, the designer said, are attached with ties rather than glue.
Other designs reflect Galveston, featuring beaches with glittering sand, seashells and mermaids.
Whether a design reflects the designer’s personality or what the person believes parade-goers will enjoy, each one is a unique design.
All materials for the designs, including the flip-flops, are supplied by the individual designers.
“We go to Dollar Tree for a lot of our flip-flops,” explained the group of ladies.
“I was at the checkout, and someone asked me if I had a nail salon because I was buying so many flip-flops,” a woman shared.
The elaborate decorating seems like a lot of work to go to just to toss the flip-flops out to strangers, but they love what they do, they said, adding that they feel it is somewhat therapeutic.
“It’s really kind of good to do when you don’t want to focus on your own life,” shared one of the designers.
The rest of the women echoed her sentiment.
Not only do they shut out life’s worries as they tend to the flip-flop décor, but also they get into the spirit of giving all year long as they create their signature throws. On top of sharing in these benefits, they keep the spirit of Mardi Gras alive in their homes.
The krewe members began decorating this year’s flip-flops in their workshops as soon as last year’s Mardi Gras ended.
They have their crafting spaces in their homes. Some have whole rooms dedicated to the art of adding pizzazz to flip-flops, while others have tables tucked away in a corner of a room.
Several times in the past year, they have come together as a group of crafters at The Lighthouse Charity Team building in Galveston. All participants reported enjoying these sessions of crafting and chatting with other krewe members.
Though I only met lady crafters, the ladies assured me men have participated in the creativity. In fact, one of the male designers glued toy sharks to his flip-flops.
Glue, glitter and beads are standard adornments on Krewe of Gambrinus flip-flops. To help keep the glitter on the sandal, several designers reported spraying their finished designs with hair spray.
Each flip-flop is individually wrapped in a plastic bag that is tied shut. Within the bag is a QR code enabling the recipient to find the group that gifted them a uniquely Galveston Mardi Gras souvenir. The code also allows the designers to learn who received their design.
Rather than flinging their hand designs out into the crowd, they will be scanning the crowds lined up on the parade route in search of those who seem to be most excited and engaged in the Mardi Gras spirit. Then they will attempt to be sure each signature throw reaches a person who captured their attention.
