Inside Furness' Art Parade

Tristan Barker

April 23, 2026

Inside Furness’ Art Parade

Tristan Barker, April 23, 2026

Last week marked the start of Furness’ anticipated art parade. On Thursday the 16th, students marched down the halls with their works, ranging from miniature parade floats to large, elaborate masks. However, before the parade officially began, our team conducted interviews with the students participating. These interviews offered insight into both the parade and the stories behind some of the student work that would soon be displayed.

One of our final interviews was with our talented art teacher, Ms. James. Although this is her first year at Furness, she has already made a noticeable impact, particularly in how the art parade is organized. One major change from previous years is a shift away from mask-making toward a wider variety of projects, including miniature floats.

We first asked what theme students were given to follow. Ms. James explained that the parade float designs are mostly focused on students’ culture, as well as what they personally value—which explains why many of the parade floats feature pop-culture references, alongside personal cultural elements. Students worked on these floats for the past month, collaborating with engineering students to construct the shoebox designs. 

Ms. James also shared that the idea was inspired by Mardi Gras’ “‘tit Rex” parade. For those unfamiliar, Mardi Gras is a vibrant, costumed-filled festival held annually in New Orleans; and on the surface is quite similar to Philadelphia’s Mummers Day Parade. Mardi Gras features a miniature parade, known as “‘tit Rex,” where shoebox-sized floats travel through the  streets. Ms. James was drawn to the concept of “‘tit Rex” after students expressed mixed opinions about creating and wearing masks for the art parade. 

When asked about her favorite part of the project, Ms. James noted that no student wanted to “time out” of the assignment. Everyone was completely enthralled with their work, and seemed to take pride in creating these parade floats. However, she acknowledged one challenge she’s wary of: those watching may not be able to see all the intricate details that students put onto their parade floats; especially since many feature designs on all four sides. Thankfully, Ms. James had a way to counter the viewing problem. After the parade, the floats were temporarily displayed in the Library/IMC, allowing viewers to come in and see all the details up close.

Ms. James also created a float for the parade, modelled after Furness’ community and culture, and adorned with photos of staff and students. Ms. James’ float shows pride in being a Falcon here at Furness. Similarly, the float reflects a message that Ms. James hopes that fellow students and paradegoers will take away from the event: the hope that students will take greater pride in both their work and their community through art.

Student Interviews

Moving along to our student interviews; which highlighted the design processes, inspirations, and perspectives from those who had their work displayed in the parade.

The first group we spoke with—Aaliyah, Debora, and Ann—created a Marvel-themed float. The reasoning behind their design was that they were originally conflicted between two distinct ideas: they were torn between whether to follow a Broadway theater-inspired design, or a Marvel theme. However, the fact that they all enjoyed Marvel overall outweighed the original idea. They explained that their design process was constantly shifting as the days progressed: first starting with general Marvel themes, then shifting to doing strictly Avengers, and then also hoping to add the theatrical elements that they had originally planned. A member of the group, Aaliyah, even noted that they were originally going to add Batman as an “easter egg,” but ultimately decided against doing that.

The final design featured cut-out images from Marvel media, a large hand-drawn Spider-Man, and a bold red ‘Marvel’ banner. We asked the group members what details they believe may go unnoticed at first glance in their designs, to which they responded that the piece has Tony Stark’s (Ironman’s) grave in the center, which—spoiler alert—is a direct reference to his funeral scene in Avengers: Endgame. They also noted that the wires running from the poles at the sides were designed to look like string lights, though the lights could be misinterpreted for “barbed wire.” This design stood out for its creativity and attention to detail. This wonderful group concluded with a hope that those viewing the parade will enjoy this piece, especially considering that their group chose such a recognizable franchise to display.

Our next group that we interviewed—consisting of Visal, Bin, Sergio, and Victoria—followed a seafaring theme. Inspired by the hit anime, One Piece, this group decided to model their design after the “Going Merry” pirate ship from the series. Undoubtedly, this float looks extremely realistic and nearly identical to the show’s design. However, to our surprise, the group revealed that they had not originally anticipated for their float to turn out so well. They said that when they were first building the base and foundation of the ship from a shoebox, they didn’t believe that they could pull off making such a complex design. Initially, they admitted the structure barely resembled a ship. However, through extensive collaboration as a team, and building on one another’s ideas, they finally pulled it off and made the amazing design that we see today.

The group noted some smaller details about their ship’s design that may go unnoticed by those watching the parade: the first being the figurehead (statue) at the front of the ship, which was made entirely out of clay; and the second detail being the barrels spread throughout the top of the ship. Overall the group expressed their excitement about the coming parade, believing that it will be a fun and energetic atmosphere. They’re most excited about showing the float they’ve worked so hard on, especially because of how proud they feel from what they were able to create. 

We ended this interview with a few words of advice from Visal that he would give for those participating in next year’s parade, which is to “remember to be lively and cheerful; it’s a parade for a reason, so don’t make it sad—-treat it like a party, and be positive.”

Later that day, we interviewed a student named Lenny. He designed a taco truck float—inspired by where his mom used to work. One of the most fun parts of this float’s design is that Lenny inserted his own original character, as well as one he made of his friend inside the taco truck itself. The overarching message that Lenny wished to display through his parade float was spreading peace throughout the world through food—with various nods to Mexican culture throughout the design. Lenny told us that from the second he started working on the project, he knew he wanted to create a taco truck to march down the parade with. As the creative process continued, he gradually added more decorative details to the design, such as the plaid fabric at the base, and the pompoms lining the truck’s sides.

Lenny pointed out some smaller details in his design that he believed may go unnoticed during the parade, which was a real menu attached to the truck’s window, and some smaller beverages that rested alongside it. Overall, Lenny said that he is a little bit nervous about marching in the parade, but he is at least hopeful about people seeing his true creativity, which is exciting. He left us with a piece of advice for those who may participate in the parade next year, which is to “try your best. If you make a mistake, turn it into something new.”

Our next parade float was centered around sports. We spoke with Jeremy, who, alongside his group, was able to pull off this awesome float. The main inspiration for their design was Philadelphia’s sports culture, featuring teams from across the city. Jeremy and his team wanted to make a realistic and creative float in order to celebrate all of our diverse teams. He explained that from the start, he and his team knew that they were going to go with this sports theme, and their creative process remained consistent throughout.

Jeremy pointed out some of the hidden details on his float that may go unnoticed in the parade. The first of these details lies in the center of the design, which is a display made to resemble the Rocky Steps—and most recognizably, Rocky himself. Jeremy noted that making Rocky stand on its own was extremely difficult, as the design kept on falling down. Aligning with his group’s sports theme, he wants people to feel excited and pumped up when they see his parade float. In his own words, he feels “wonderful” about the coming parade. When asked if he has any advice for those participating in next year’s art parade, he responded by pointing out that collaborating with your team, doing your best, and thinking about what would look cool for those watching to see.

One of the last few interviews that we conducted was with a student named Yumi. Alongside her group, Yumi designed a parade float that was primarily inspired by Sanrio (also commonly referred to as Hello Kitty). 

At first glance, the float’s colorful cake design and recognizable Sanrio characters made it stand out immediately. Its overall structure further sets it apart.

When asked about the main inspiration for the Sanrio-themed float, Yumi replied by stating that when her group first heard the directions, they immediately knew that they wanted to design something related to Hello Kitty. She further explained that the hardest part of this whole Sanrio-themed design process was turning the body of the float into a cake. With lots of meticulous planning, and loads of hot glue, the group was able to create the cake-body using cloth, foam, and a shoebox.

Yumi expressed some uncertainty about her design, worrying that some people may have misconceptions about parts of the float, and possibly not recognize some of the characters displayed. However, she has no need to worry. The design clearly communicated its theme and characters, because—as I said before—I was able to recognize the Sanrio-theme almost immediately.

One of the more hidden details that may be less noticeable during the parade is the character cut-out of Badtz-Maru holding the Japanese flag. For those who may not know, Badtz-Maru is one of Sanrio’s penguin characters, and is commonly displayed with a grumpy personality. Badtz-Maru is holding the Japanese flag as a representation of Japanese culture (which is also where the Sanrio brand originated). Another detail that Yumi believed may go unnoticed is that the face of the float is designed to look like Hello Kitty’s face. Overall Yumi—as well as her group—feel both extremely excited and prepared to display their work in the coming parade.

Our last student interview that we conducted was with a student named Michelle. She and her group made a parade float that was inspired by Duolingo; which is both ironic and aligns well with the parade’s cultural theme.

Looking at this piece, it's hard not to immediately notice all of the different flags that are extending from the top of the sequin-covered float. Michelle said that she and her group had placed the flags in order to celebrate a wide range of cultures around the world. Under each one of these flags is a sign with writing on it. Michelle pointed out that each of these signs says the phrase “Hello,” in the native language of whichever country rests above it (ex: under the flag of Spain, you can see “¡Hola!” written on the sign).

Michelle then went on to share a few highlights of her group’s design process. She first described that the hardest part of creating this parade float was attaching the green sequin fabric to the base of the float. She said that her group had to use both hot-glue, and threading in order to attach the fabric so that it was both stable and aesthetically pleasing. The easiest part of this design process, as she described, was attaching the jewels to the sides of the float, since they stayed on and attached with a lot less effort.

Overall, this float's theme seems very focused on unifying cultures—quite similar to how Duolingo as a brand is focused on language learning and cultural connection. Michelle feels proud of both herself and her team’s work; also feeling mostly motivated for the coming parade, although still slightly uneasy about marching down the halls.

To Conclude…

As Furness’ 2026 Art Parade comes to an end, the parade highlights the creativity and effort of the talented student artists that were able to pull this off. Under the guidance of our amazing art teachers, and the consistent refinements to the parade each year, we cannot wait for what the future holds for Furness’ art department.