The smelt parade, This will be our 11th year.

We started in 2012.

I'm standing at the our main shop, our headquarters for parade production this year.

I think there's about 15 of our papier maché big smelt heads.

I have a long background as a puppeteer, and I have a strong interest in outdoor parade arts.

I've been to Carnival in Trinidad.

I've been in the second line parades and Mardi Gras.

The primary ones are papier maché.

There's also a lot of cardboard that's used.

Smelt of course, are silver.

We make good use of this product that we buy in the building supply stores.

It's a foil faced bubble wrap because it's a nice color.

It's silver.

So a lot, you know, we make liberal use of that for crowns or smelt puppets on sticks.

A lot of people make those and dance with them in the parade.

The Smelt Queen is our largest puppet.

She's about 15 foot long.

Hundreds of people come.

Even right now, there are people at home working on their costumes.

It's a playful kind of thing.

And, you know, kids.

Kids adapt to it really well.

You know, adults a lot of times get swept up in it, too.

Anything goes really.

People.

People do whatever they want.

The Slice from PBS North,