Recipe for a successful float:

• Stalk the dump for large pieces of cardboard? Check.
• Recruit unsuspecting friends and family and convince them to agree to participate in the float without giving them full details of what they would have to do? Check.
• Develop an idea based on materials available that fits the theme? Check.
• Buy paint? Check.
• Scenic paint stones with highlight, shadow, speckling and a little glitter to catch the light to create the perfect fairy tale castle? check.
• Make a tower out of a cardboard box? Check. 
• Harvest bittersweet to make a bean stock? Check.
• Pull costumes? Check.
• Attach supports to truck so Rapunzel doesn’t fall off the top? Check.
• Measure all the power lines on the parade route to see if we can build the tower higher and discover the roof and flag plans have got to go? Check. 
• Assemble the entire thing using screws, washers and duct tape? Check.
• Cover castle with bittersweet so it loos more like a castle and less like a tank? Check.
• Install drawbridge? Check. 
• Get talent into hair and makeup including a 16 foot wig made out of yarn for our male Rapunzel? Check.
• Basically run out of time and have to rush to the parade muster spot? Check.
• Most important step: have a blast with friends and family? Check. 

Some photos and video from our recent 4th of July parade Grand Prize win.  Yes, this took forever, at one point we had 4 engineers working on this project.  The theme was favorite children’s book and we decided to go with Grimms Fairy tales, basically because I had the costumes from a production of “Into The Woods” with a little “Complet Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)” thrown in for good measure. Thanks so much to both the behind the scenes crew and the talent for all your hard work, energy and laughter. It was a ton of fun working with my dear friends and family to pull off this crazy float and I can’t wait until next year to see what the theme is so we can create another giant masterpiece. #fendersonfloats Video from the Parade