Kern Studios: discover where magic is made

DISCOVER WHERE MAGIC IS MADE FLOATS - PARADES - PROPS - SPECTACULARS

KERN STUDIOS - NEW ORLEANS

Nice to meet y’all!

Based in New Orleans, Kern Studios is the world’s leading maker of parades, floats, custom props, spectaculars, sculptures, and themed environments since 1932.

Kern Studios has always been as much a part of the annual Mardi Gras celebrations as New Orleanians love their Carnaval parades. In fact, we create most of those parades, from concept through completion.

We’ve even made a world where everyday is Carnival: Mardi Gras World. A unique attraction in America’s most unique city. It’s a magical world of wonders, created for you by the people who bring Mardi Gras magic to life every year—the artists of Kern Studios.

But the magic does not stop at Mardi Gras! Our work can be found in advertising, movies, theme parks, and casinos around the globe. Kern Studios props enhance themed environments for e.g. Disney, Universal Studios and the Las Vegas strip. And all those Chick-Fil-A cows you see on billboards, watertowers and stadiums? Yes sir, they all come from the Kern ‘farm’.

Also, there is a Kern parade rolling every day of the year anywhere from Japan’s Toho Parque España, South Korea’s Samsung Everland Park to parades in Philadelphia, Texas, Montreal or Shanghai.

Please take a moment to go through our company brochure to see for yourself what we’re capable of. We sincerely hope it will inspire you and some time soon, we can make some magic for you!

Kind regards,

Barry Kern CEO and President of Kern Studios

Once upon a time...

The early days of what has grown into Kern Studios started with Roy Kern, a local artist turned sign painter who worked his way through the Depression painting names and signs on the bows of freighters and barges.

As a young boy, his son Blaine learned and watched as his father built his first Mardi Gras float on the back on a mule-drawn wagon in 1932.

To help pay his mother’s medical bills, young Blaine painted a mural in a hospital in 1947. This caught the eye of a surgeon who was captain of the Mardi Gras Krewe of Alla and he invited Blaine to design and build the floats for his Krewe. One float led to another and before long, Blaine became the city’s leading parade designer and builder, working with Rex, Zulu and other legendary Krewes.

Mr. Mardi Gras During several trips to Italy, France, and Spain, Blaine was impressed by the extravagant prop concepts and animation that marked the European style of float building. He brought them home to New Orleans and developed the monumental scale and lavish ornamentation of today’s Mardi Gras spectacular floats. Blaine was instrumental in the founding and formative years of some of New Orleans biggest parades and “Super Krewes” and is still known as “Mr. Mardi Gras”.

Caring about continuity The Kerns are universally recognized as the makers of today’s Mardi Gras magic and the tradition continues under the third generation of Kern leadership. Blaine’s son, Barry Kern, is now CEO and president of Kern Studios and Mardi Gras World.

As his father did, Barry grew up working in the family business and has traveled abroad from a young age to interact with designers and artists worldwide in similar businesses. He has taken Kern Studios from a float building company specializing in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades to the world’s leading maker of floats, props, spectaculars, themed environments and sculptures.

Deeply caring about its continuity, Kern Studios has recently welcomed the fourth generation in the company. Fitz Kern, Barry’s oldest son has now joined to learn the business inside and out.

Our services Kern Studios guides projects from the very first idea right up to a flawless execution.

We help our clients identify their needs, define the style and scope, and bring ideas to life.

Through years of experience, our artists have mastered the tried and tested traditional production methods, but know how to combine them with the latest technology to wow modern spectators.

We understand how important brand standards are, and thus have been entrusted to work on projects for brands such as Universal Studios, Disney, NFL, DIRECTV, Samsung, and M&M Mars.

We are proud of our work. It is our passion.

Float building From a mini hand-pulled float to a Royal float or an entire Super Fleet, we can design and construct an original, incomparable parade for you to tell your story and captivate your audience. Expect brilliant concepts, flawless execution and a truly unique experience for your setting and occasion.

Memorable parade magic is guaranteed.

Float Rentals If you just like to spice up a single event, we literally have hundreds of floats in our inventory that are available to for rent. Either available to you fully decorated or you can have our artists customize a float to meet your needs. With parades taking place all around, we are able to easily transport floats from one city to the next to help clients keep their parade themes fresh and engaging.

Parade Production If you want to organize a parade, but don’t know where to start, rest assured: Kern Studios offers turn key services to its clients, managing every detail of parade production, including all needed preparations and logistics.

So whether it’s permits, liability insurance, float storage, costumes, beads or other throws, police escorts or ‘simply’ designing floats that will go over as well as under bridges: we’re able to tackle every aspect of parade production.

Our services Custom props and sculptures If you can imagine it, we can make it. Using vibrant colors and superior materials, our props and sculptures are more than just decorative flourishes.

Every Kern Studios custom made prop is designed to deliver impact, perception, and last but not least: retention. They are the magical heart and soul of any memorable event.

Spectaculars Our props and sculptures are powerful tools for spectacular outdoor branding. Doing our magic, we bring your brand to life so people will embrace it. We strongly believe in in lasting partnerships with our clients. So whether we use your design or we work together from scratch to develop a concept that will enhance your brand: together we will make it a reality.

We’re very proud of the lasting memories we made in partnership with the world’s cornerstone brands so far. From Disney and Universal Studios to M&M Mars, Coca-Cola, and Chick-Fil-A. Themed environments The artists of Kern Studios can -as we say in New Orleans- ‘dress up’ any environment into a place of magic. Examples of some of our theming work can be seen at the Fantasia Gardens Minitiature Golf Course, Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts, and the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. We can also temporarily theme environments to make events extra special, like we did for DIRECTV, Microsoft, and NFL. Prop rentals Kern Studios makes hundreds of props each year and has dozens of warehouses full of them.

The magic that we previously created can still work wonders. Simply rent any of our authentic props for installations of every kind and every size—a themed party, a convention, a one-time event, or even a long running exhibit.

You’ll find the rich variety of life in our hundreds of unique, hand-sculpted works. Movie stars and great entertainers, sports heroes, cartoon characters, world leaders, heroes and villains, fairy tale creatures or characters of myth and mystery... we’ve got them in all shapes, sizes and attitudes. If you need it, we have it. Check out kernstudios.com for an overview of our rental props and their pricing.

Mardi Gras World Mardi Gras is the main big event in New Orleans every year, but not everybody is able to come celebrate it with us. And at the same time, it would be a shame to ‘just’ store all those wonderful Mardi Gras floats and props Kern Studios has created over the years.

Which is why we created Mardi Gras World: the company that offers you a window into the Mardi Gras experience all year long. It’s one of the most unique attractions in New Orleans, and it’s one that you and your family or group will love.

The greatest free show on Earth Our tour shows you what it takes to bring Mardi Gras to life year after year. It allows you to see the hard work and extensive planning that goes into this grand event firsthand. It’s what makes Mardi Gras in New Orleans the greatest free show on Earth!

Our knowledgeable guides take the mask off Mardi Gras with an all-access tour, winding through the massive Kern Studios where the magnificent floats are built from the ground up. You’ll learn about the history of this unique and festive tradition and go beyond its reputation to get a deeper understanding of the real Mardi Gras. The whole family will love the experience of touring the space where our artisans create spectacular floats for over 40 parades each year.

Strike a pose There are plenty of opportunities for photos in front of floats, posing with props, or wearing a traditional Mardi Gras costume on this New Orleans tour. This is an experience you will want to document, so don’t forget to bring your camera! Tours are offered 7 days a week, with the first tour beginning at 9:30am and the last tour beginning at 4:30pm. Regular day tours run every 30 minutes and last about an hour. Do you want a night tour or throw a party at Mardi Gras World?

Just contact us and we’ll make it happen.

A FREE shuttle is provided with ticket purchase, and has pick-ups at 20 convenient central downtown locations. Just call when you are at one of our many predetermined stops and we will quickly pick you and your party up. Wandering through the magical float den is an exciting experience for kids and adults alike, so come join us!

For tickets and more information, please visit mardigrasworld.com.

River City Located next door to Kern Studios and Mardi Gras World, along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi River, is River City, the perfect event venue for hosting any occasion from weddings and concerts to corporate events and team building retreats.

Grand Oaks Mansion River City offers a versatile selection of spaces that can accommodate any event from 10 guests to 10,000. The Grand Oaks Mansion is the crown jewel: an indoor recreation of a Southern Plantation with extravagant gardens and pathways. Guests won’t believe their eyes: the awe-inspiring, indoor replica of an antebellum mansion will make them feel they’ve stepped back in time. Towering columns, magical footbridges, magnificent oak trees and a starlit sky all add to the sense of wonder. Get swept away to a hot Southern night — and it never rains at the Grand Oaks Mansion!

Scale it up or down The Iberville and Bienville rooms are perfect for intimate receptions and parties. For larger events, The River City Ballroom is a magnificent multi-purpose space for everything from concerts to bridal shows. Finally, the three River City outdoor event spaces are the Mardi Gras World Plaza, the River City Plaza and Mardi Gras World Square, fantastic for festivals and other large gatherings.

The River City Plaza takes you right to where the Crescent city meets the river, where guests will experience the majesty of the Mighty Mississippi as they enjoy an unforgettable night under the dramatically lit twin bridges. Unique in all of downtown, the Plaza is an open-concept space along the river, featuring a 7,000 sq foot vaulted pavilion on our private wharf.

Thinking really BIG? Imagine what you could do with 59,000 square feet of uninterrupted fun – right in downtown New Orleans! Mardi Gras World Square is the perfect site for outdoor festivals or other large-scale events.

Just add cake Naturally, we offer a complete package to make your event a magical, memorable experience. Anything from outstanding catering, valet parking, sizzling music, awesome lighting, elegant furniture and decor to special performances or professional photography or videography of your event: we are happy to go the extra mile to make your event just perfect!

For more information visit rivercityvenues.com.

Kern Studios Phone: +1 504 362 8211

+1 800 362 8213 Mail: info@kernstudios.com Web: www.kernstudios.com Mardi Gras World Phone: +1 504 361 7821 Fax: +1 504 558 1865 Mail: info@mardigrasworld.com Web: www.mardigrasworld.com River City Phone: +1 504 361 7821 Fax: +1 504 558 1865 Mail: info@rivercityvenues.com Web: www.rivercityvenues.com Mailing address 1380 Port of New Orleans Place New Orleans, LA 70130 USA