As Carnival season in New Orleans approaches full bloom, a new documentary looks back at the man who had as much to do with growing Mardi Gras into a world-renowned spectacle as anyone in the festival’s history.
“Blaine Kern: They Call Him Mr. Mardi Gras” will make its debut tonight on WYES-TV in New Orleans, and it promises insight into the iconic float impresario who turned a batch of small parades into a tourism boon that generates a billion dollars of revenue in the Big Easy every year.
“The float-building business he established 75 years ago opened Carnival to people of all races and backgrounds and continues to build spectacular parades for krewes and clients here and around the world,” WYES said in an official release.
The program highlighting Kern, who passed away in 2020, was produced and narrated by former WWL-TV anchor Dennis Woltering and chronicles Kern’s rise to prominence as he became the nation’s foremost float-builder.
His creations would eventually not only grace the Crescent City streets for 75 years but also populate spectacles for Disney and Universal Studios as well as celebrations across the globe as he exported his work to Canada, Mexico, Japan and China, until his death in 2020.
“Blaine Kern: They Call Him Mr. Mardi Gras” premieres Monday, February 7, at 8pm on WYES. You can see the trailer by clicking here.
Additional airings as well as other Mardi Gras-themed programming can be found by clicking WYES’s Mardi Gras page.