Giant shark to join gators in homecoming parade

By Nicole Aedo on October 15, 2015

There will be more than just gators to look out for at this year's University of Florida homecoming parade on Friday. The "Jaws" theme song might seem a little more appropriate when a life-size great white shark swims along University Avenue.

Lorraine Duerden and her husband, Raymond Rawls, built the bicycle-powered float with reclaimed and reused materials, including Trader Joe bags and newspaper donated by The Gainesville Sun.

Their most famous sculpture, a massive alligator recently spotted at the Open Streets event, was almost entirely made of reusable material, according to Joseph Floyd, who worked closely with the couple on the sculpture.

Though Duerden said this year's parade, the couple's third, seemed to have snuck up on them, the shark was nearing completion earlier this week.

The large shark is made from paper mache and was shaped with a fiberglass molding of a shark, which they have never used with previous sculptures.

The artists were first introduced to the idea of joining the parade in 2012 with the UF club Beautiful People Bike Crew, a club mostly made up of architecture students.

Duerden and Rawls agreed; they both wanted to make something interesting and beautiful for the community to see at the parade.

After seeing the success of their first bicycle sculpture, a giant koi-like fish, Floyd knew the bicycle sculptures were a perfect fit for the parade.

Duerden and Rawls, both bicycle enthusiasts, said they use bicycles in their sculptures to be environmentally friendly and safe for kids. They hope to raise awareness about the practicality and benefits of cycling.

Drawing people in makes them more interested in the topic, Duerden said. If it looks amazing, everyone will be more interested.

Duerden wants to see the bicycle section of the parade expand and have more local artists get involved.

With the sculptures being made of mostly repurposed and recycled materials, she said the floats are proof that they can be built on the cheap.

Though the couple is known in Gainesville for their festive sea-creature sculptures, their day job is just as creative. They work for natural history museums creating displays and sculptures out of a variety of mixed media.

When asked how far her plans for future designs and events extended, Duerden said, "We'll keep doing this as long as it is fun for us."