🎭 Carnival Floats and Costumes

Carnival processions feature enormous hand-crafted floats — sometimes several storeys tall — carrying costumed performers who toss beads, candy, and trinkets to spectators. The tradition of elaborate masquerade dates to medieval Europe, when the period before Lent permitted social inversion and satire behind anonymising masks. Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, Venice's Carnevale, and New Orleans' Mardi Gras each developed distinct aesthetics while sharing the same festive roots.