The Richey family was up until 1:30 a.m. on Sunday working on their second-ever float entry for the Dairy Block’s Petite Parade in Lower Downtown.

Lexi, Scott and their son dressed up in all pink to match their float titled “A can of worms.” 

While worms can sometimes be associated with fear, Lexi Richey said she wanted their float to bring a sense of playfulness. 

It had a metal tin with plushie and crochet worms popping out of it. Neon pink slinkies also were falling out of the sides and it even had a glass tube filled with four real worms from their yard. 

“Although we had to battle our chickens in order to make sure that it didn’t get eaten,” Lexi said.

The Petite Parade is an annual tradition on the Dairy Block, the dining district in the former home of a historic dairy factory in LoDo, to celebrate Mardi Gras with smaller-than-life parade floats. 

The holiday that translates to “Fat Tuesday” in French celebrates the day before Christians start Lent, the solemn period of fasting and prayer. Mardi Gras was on Feb. 17, but this year, the Petite Parade was hosted a little later into the Lenten season as Dairy Block was busy with Valentine’s Day activities during Carnival season.

The event was founded eight years ago to bring a family-friendly activity to the micro-district, said Nate Couture, the marketing manager at Dairy Block. 

The idea came about by wanting a Mardi Gras event that wouldn’t require closing down streets. The Dairy Block also wanted to make use of its alley, a privatized walkway.

“We can’t actually drive anything down, larger than a bike or a motorcycle. So we wanted it to be something accessible for everyone,” Couture said. “Families can easily create something that’s small like that.”

The event attracts about 200 to 300 people and has grown each year, he said.

“Even before we have the date posted, we have people reaching out asking when it’s taking place and what the details are,” Couture said.

Participants are encouraged to create miniature floats to process down the Dairy Block Alley for the Petite Parade. Anyone is welcome to design a float, which can be made of wagons or skateboards, though they are required to register online ahead of time. 

The parade has a few rules for floats: It has to be family-friendly, on wheels and, most importantly, “NO GLITTER BOMBS.” Yes, it was in all caps on the website rules.

It’s really hard to clean, Couture said.

On Sunday, the alley was filled with kids, parents, a brass band and acrobatic acts.

The parade featured 11 contestants from a wagon float decorated with ‘The Princess and the Frog’ Funko collectibles, a Star Wars X-wing spaceship, a Candy Land-themed float blowing out bubbles, a silly goose to a remote-controlled car taped to a golden platter of Mardi Gras desserts.

Teams were encouraged to dress up to match their float and a competition awarded floats for the “most original” design, “best team theme,” “best family float” and “funniest float.”

The winner for most original? The can of worms. 

Mark Moffett and Jackson Ellis came back for their third year to give a performance act of two dueling pastry chefs as if they were in a hip-hop face off challenge. Moffett was dressed in a tan plaid suit, a chef’s hat and sunglasses as he walked down the alley with a remote control guiding a platter of “pączki,” traditional Polish jam-filled donuts, to children in the audience. 

He was evoking the style of rapper Kendrick Lamar, Moffett said. 

His rival Ellis was dressed as Bad Bunny, though quite a literal take as he was in a bunny onesie and fur coat as he handed out quesitos, the Puerto Rican pastries filled with sweet cheese.

Making the float was easy, Moffett said. It was the cooking that took the longest. 

The crowd cheered loudest for Ellis, taking Moffett’s title as the pastry king. 

“It was about time,” Ellis said.

Over the years, the two said they’ve seen the event attract more families and children. Kids rushed the parade to pick up sweet treats from the two chefs. By the end of the short route, their platters were empty.

Their favorite part of the Petite Parade? Getting everyone’s reactions. 

“It’s always fun to walk down and just have the adoration of all the people,” Ellis said.