Among the more time-consuming preparations for a Chewbacchus parade is the manufacture of throws — the small, handmade objects that the Krewe distributes along the route in lieu of plastic beads (which, with the partial exception of beads recycled from previous parades, are the responsibility of someone else’s parade). Costuming runs alongside throw-making in the same workshops, the same Facebook groups, and frequently the same evenings. What follows is the Krewe’s working consensus on both, accumulated over the years and updated when something new becomes obvious.
Some categories of object are, for various combinations of safety, legal, and dignitary reasons, not to be thrown from the parade.
The Krewe’s authoritative throws — the ones that find their way onto Mardi Gras shrines and mantles across New Orleans — are handmade and unmistakably its own.
Bandoliers and bandolier blocks are the Krewe’s signature throw, a nod to the bandolier worn by Chewbacca himself. Original bandoliers were made of fur, jute strapping, and decorated wooden blocks stapled or glued together; for the 2015 parade the throw was deconstructed into separate bandoliers and bandolier blocks, so members and parade-goers could mix and match between subkrewes. Modern bandoliers and blocks use velcro and any number of materials; the standing rule, repeated yearly to prevent injury and confusion, is hook on the blocks, loop on the strap — hard on hard, soft on soft.
Pocket shrines were introduced as additional signature throws in 2015 — the year the parade theme was Cult of the Sacred Drunken Wookiee — and have been embraced ever since. Made from any small container the maker can repurpose, pocket shrines are a portable expression of devotion to the Sacred Drunken Wookiee, suited to mantle, dashboard, or coat pocket alike.
For specific throw questions — what counts as packaging, whether a particular material qualifies as “non-plastic”, &c. — the dedicated Costumes, Crafts and Throws Facebook group is the right venue.
The single most important rule of Chewbacchus costuming is that the wearer must be able to walk in it — comfortably, for several miles, with stops for food, water, the bathroom, and occasional sitting. The Krewe is a walking parade; lineup-to-after-after-party is the kind of distance that punishes optimistic costume choices.
Helmets, masks, gloves, and unitards all have an outsized impact on parade-day mobility. Members are encouraged to think through the full evening — eating, drinking, finding a bathroom, surviving lineup — before committing to a costume.
Pro-tip: light up the costume. Chewbacchus rolls at night. Fairy lights, EL wire, and assorted glowy blinky things are the costumer’s friend — visibility for spectators, photogenic in pictures, generally festive.
The same Costumes, Crafts and Throws Facebook group is the right venue for costume questions and inspiration.
A long-running list of supply houses, craft shops, and online sources the Krewe has relied on. Local first; remote where the local options run out.