Shake off the winter chill with an afternoon that’s bright, bouncy, colorful, and delightfully loud. This family-friendly celebration packs a whole carnival’s worth of fun into one gym. Enjoy crafts, games, snacks, balloon artists, and a shoebox float gallery that might steal the show. Top it off with the Children’s Parade that’s guaranteed to melt even the frostiest moods.
And don’t forget about the Children’s Parade! Led by the BOS Mascot, kids put on their capes, crowns and masks; use their noisemakers and throw beads.
What's a parade without the floats!? As part of the BOS Family Winter Carnival, children from across St. Louis are invited to design their very own Mardi Gras float using shoeboxes and submit them to the BOS Online Shoebox Float Gallery. This one-of-a-kind activity will challenge everyone's creativity and craftiness to be your very own Mardi Gras parade director.
Children who enter a shoebox float in the online gallery are invited to bring their finished shoebox floats to the BOS Float Gallery at the Purina Pet Parade in the staging lot at 12th and Allen, on February 8, to ride on an actual Mardi Gras float in the Purina Pet Parade! (Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and complete a waiver form).
To submit your float to the BOS Online Gallery and be eligible to ride a Mardi Gras float in the Purina Pet Parade submit your float below by January 31st, 2026.
Need creative inspiration? Here are Mardi Gras supplies you could use to decorate your Mardi Gras shoebox float. But you have the freedom to be as creative as you can be!
