Looking to spruce up the Halifax parade game, the City of Halifax approached AtlantexCreativeWorks to design and build a parade float based on the theme of a sandcastle on the beach. Atlantex enlisted the help of SperryDesign to create a concept based on the design parameters provided. After a bit of tweaking the concept was nailed down and we geared up to transform the concept into reality. The HRM float was to have, literally, all the bells and whistles including digital sound system, LED colour changing lights and bubble machines all powered by a generator.

To save on both time and cost, we suggested purchasing a stock trailer and modifying it to suit our needs instead of fabricating from the ground up. We built an extension on the back of the trailer as well as custom mounts for a decorative apron and an electrical conduit grid to supply power to the various components.

The sandcastle elements were carved separately by hand and by CNC and then coated with a tough, waterproof plastic skin. The individual pieces were assembled together and formed to look like a unified sand sculpture. A critical step was creating the realistic sand texture that brought everything together.

The finishing touches were painting the various animals, shells and beach toys, bubble machines and lights, and finally testing the sound system.