I have never been to New Orleans, but I do know it is world-famous for its Mardi Gras, parades, and general revelry in the weekend before Lent.

This morning I just read an article in The Washington Post, “Mardi Gras is canceled, so residents are making their homes into floats: ‘New Orleans doesn’t know how to do anything halfway’.

It all started with Megan Boudreaux who decided to decorate her house as a float when the city decided not to issue parade permits. Apparently there are 50+ permits issued in previous years.

“I decided, ‘Well, okay then, I’m going to decorate my house instead, pull some beads out of the attic and throw them at the neighbors,” said Boudreaux, 38, who works as an insurance agent in New Orleans.

She posted her idea on Twitter, thinking that she might inspire a few of her friends to do the same for this year’s Mardi Gras on Feb. 16.

“Everyone loved the idea and wanted to jump in to make their own house floats,” she said. “A shop owner decided to call her theme Yardi Gras, and it just exploded from there.”

Here are some photos posted on Yardi Gras. Click the link for complete descriptions of the decorated houses.

The reason I got so excited was because of the last paragraph:

“At this point, it’s my baby,” she said. “We might not get thousands of house floats, but I think it will continue. My feeling is, ‘Why not pull out all the stops?’” (emphasis mine)

Wow! “Pull out all the stops” is an expression from the organ world.

According to the American Guild of Organists, “The pipes are arranged in rows or ranks, according to these tone colors. To bring a rank of pipes into play, the organist pulls a knob or operates a tablet called a ‘stop.’” Pushing a knob in “stops” the pipes from producing sound, and pulling out the stops increases the musical volume. Now just imagine pulling out all the stops. … Aha!

The name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; each can be “on” (admitting the passage of air to certain pipes), or “off” (stopping the passage of air to certain pipes). (Wikipedia)

When I was in graduate school, our professor said something to the effect, “Instead of calling it a ‘stop,’ we should call it a ‘go!’ because without pulling out any stops, you won’t have any sound.

Dictionary.com defines the term “Pull out all the stops” as follows:
a) to use every means possible
b) to express, do, or carry out something without reservation.

Examples:

• make a very great effort to achieve something.
“the director pulled out all the stops to meet the impossible deadline

• do something very elaborately or on a grand scale.
“they gave a Christmas party and pulled out all the stops”

Here is a whole article from Merriam-Webster which defines “What Does It Mean to ‘Pull Out All The Stops?” They cited the usage of the term in news reports:

[Travis] Scott pulled out all the stops at the concert’s end. A giant golden inflatable of his head emerged on the satellite stage, and the set concluded with “Goosebumps” and “Sicko Mode,” two of Scott’s biggest hits.
— Jeff Niesel, Cleveland Scene, 5 Dec. 2018

Republicans pulled out all the stops to ensure that the seat in the ruby red state didn’t fall into Democratic hands, including two rallies from President Donald Trump on Monday to help seal the deal.
— Zach Montellaro, Politico, 28 Nov. 2018

Els is pulling out all the stops to make sure the International team, of which he is captain, hoists the real Presidents Cup next December when the tournament is held for the third time at Royal Melbourne.
— Associated Press, 26 Nov. 2018

Isn’t this fun?! My entire life has been one of “Pulling Out All The Stops!”