Historically, Mardi Gras beads were glass. There were local artisans who made them, although some were purchased from elsewhere as well. In the latter half of the 20th century, those were replaced by plastic, and then like everything else made in this country, farmed out to China. There are a handful of Krewes starting to use glass beads again. I actually got a string of those as a throw last year. Sometimes, the plastic beads are colored. More often, it seems, they are coated in a cheap, colored laminate. Eventually, if the beads are in the elements long enough, they will de-laminate. You may be familiar with some of the smaller Trees in the neutral ground on St. Charles that basically stay decorated for Mardi Gras all year. There are, also, many beads that never make it to the ground when thrown from floats. They land in the oaks and just stay there. These are the ones that are often there long enough to de-laminate. You end up with these pale, plastic beads that almost look like they would glow in the dark. Monday night’s storms brought a lot of those out of the trees. It’s interesting to see how far some of them landed away from the trees because of the wind.
Beads and Storms
