Here’s a break from the serious world for ya:

Ars Technica: An Arduino-controlled, fire-breathing Godzilla at Mardi Gras?! Blame Chewbacchus

“It started when someone from Indiana was bartending at my place,” says Kirah Haubrich, recalling a fateful night before the 2011 Mardi Gras season. “We asked about his first Mardi Gras, and he says ‘I thought it was really weird, but I didn’t see a lot of cosplay.’ It’s because we all have costumes and no one thinks about that in particular. But if we had a scene, I said it𠆝 be called Chewbacchus. Immediately, I turned to Ballard. And after the night I said Chewbacchus to him, three weeks later the Bar2 was being built.”

All it took was one seasonal play on words, and suddenly Haubrich and her friend Ryan Ballard became the unexpected founders of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, Mardi Gras’ only official Sci-Fi and Fantasy themed organization. Together with friend and fellow “overlord” Brett Powers (think of them as organizational leaders, but ones who can trade Close Encounters quotes), the trio first unveiled Chewbacchus to the world in 2011. With 400 members marching in that inaugural parade, clearly they had tapped into something.

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“Chewbacchus gives people access to Mardi Gras they don’t have, and there’s a big artist community in New Orleans, and this gives them a huge outlet,” Powers says. “There’s always been a homemade aspect to Mardi Gras with smaller parades, but as time has gone on, Mardi Gras has become commercial for people. But we were fortunate to ride the new wave of DIY, bringing Mardi Gras back to its satirical roots. The idea is to make fun of royalty, for the plebs to make fun of the patricians and to satirize what’s going on in culture. That’s what Sci-Fi is all about.”

According to Powers, to be legally recognized as a krewe in town, your name has to reflect a mythical deity (hence, larger krewes named for Orpheus and Bacchus). Therein lies the genius of Chewbacchus. On its surface it’s a mashup of Bacchus and everyone’s favorite Wookie, but “the bigger idea is Sci-Fi is the mythology of our times,” Ballard says. “We’re celebrating the new myths that are more relevant to our culture.”

This young, growing krewe—an estimated 20,000 people watched 800 Chewbacchans march in 2013—is founded on two main principles. The first is that everyone should be able to participate. To that end, membership for Chewbacchus is only $42 for the year, a nod to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And although the official name is Star Wars themed, members can dress up as anything, from Elliot in ET to Monty Python characters. Chewbacchus even officially encompasses smaller-themed groups, such as the Krewe of the Living Dead or the Krewe du Who.

So.Fucking.Awesome.