Intergalactic Krewe of

Chewbacchus

The Ultimate Guide to Chewbacchus Throws and Costumes

Throw Watcha Wanna (kind of)

The coolest part of gearing up for the parade is sitting around with your favorite Chewbs and making throws and costumes for the big day. As you get to work, here’s some guidelines for what to make/not make.

THE BIG NO NO’s:

The big one: no glass on the parade route. This means no glass throws, beer bottles or other glass containers or materials. REALLY. NO GLASS. AT ALL. EVER. This one applies to more than just Chewbacchus. It’s a parade day basic across the board. No one wants to cut themselves on broken glass when they’re trying to enjoy the parade.

In addition to the prohibition against glass throws, please do not hand out condoms or “sexually oriented devices”, dead or live animals or insects, things with sharp points, noxious substances, or silly string. Additionally, Chewbs should not distribute any throws with advertisements for any commercial entity or that is redeemable for a prize or discount. These things may incur fines that the Krewe will have to ask you to pay for. Nobody wants that.

Also, please do not use packaging for throws. Packaging is trash and we have to clean up your mess. Chewbacchus strives to be as green a krewe as possible. Plastic sux. String, fabric and other non-plastic packaging is a great way to keep small things separate. If you must use packaging, please remove it before handing it out and collect your own trash as you go.

THINGS WE LOVE TO SEE YOU MAKE:

So many Chewbacchus throws find their way to the Mardi Gras shrines and mantles of many New Orleanians because we emphasize making throws that are homemade, handmade pieces of art.

Bandoliers & Bandolier Blocks are the signature throw of Chewbacchus, as a nod to the bandolier Chewbacca sports. The original bandoliers thrown by the Krewe were made of fur, jute strapping and wood blocks that were decorated and stapled or glued together. For the 2015 parade, the signature throw was deconstructed as separate bandolier and bandolier block throws, so that parade go-ers and members could mix and match blocks from various subkrewes. Connected with velcro, now both bandoliers and blocks are made from any number of materials. As you’re making your own, note that the hook (rough side of the velcro) should always go on the blocks, and the loop (soft side of velcro) should always go on bandolier straps. HARD ON HARD; SOFT ON SOFT!

Pocket shrines were introduced as additional signature throws in 2015 when the theme of the parade was “Cult of the Sacred Drunken Wookiee”. Made from a variety of different containers and materials, pocket shrines are a great way to show and share your love for the Sacred Drunken Wookiee and all of the glorious disciples in the realm who we cherish.

Size matters when you’re deciding what kind of throws to make for parade day. Chewbacchus is a walking krewe, so there’s no giant float to carry all of your throws. Only make what you can carry (on your person or in your contraption). Paper throws like art prints, coloring books, postcards, etc. make a nice easy to carry stack that can pack a lot of punch.

Reuse, Renew, Recycle as much as you possibly can when making throws. We want to be mindful of the materials we use and the impact we have. In that vein, plastic Mardi Gras beads are generally frowned upon in the krewe. While we love all those who love the Wookiee, PLEASE DON’T SHOW UP ON PARADE DAY WITH A CONTRAPTION FULL OF BEADS. They’re bulky, heavy, and you can get them at any other boring parade. Bring your friends, make some art, and do it all for the Wookiee.

If you have a throw question, join the Facebook group devoted to costumes, crafts and throws and ye shall receive the knowledge you seek!

AND make sure to pencil in the Throw Swap event on your calendar. It’s usually the week before the parade, and it’s a great time to meet the Krewe and see what other Chewbs are making!

Costume Advice

Don’t Panic. Just be awesome (and adaptable). The biggest difference about costuming for a party or a con and a parade is that you have to be able to walk in your costume! We’re a walking krewe. Make sure you can walk 3 miles in your costume, be able to go to the bathroom and be able to have fun! Think through your parade day and all of the things you’ll be able to do and see. Helmets, masks, gloves, unitards can all have a big impact on how you move around so think through how you’re going to eat/drink/be merry for the couple of hours of lineup through the after-parties.

Pro-tip: Make your costume light up. We march at night, so fairy lights, el wire and any other number of glowy blinky things are your friends. Lights make you more visible to parade go-ers (and they look cool in pix!). If nothing else, do it for the ‘gram.

Join the Facebook Group devoted to costumes, crafts and throws for inspiration and help.

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