A Grand Marais Mardi Gras party goer is fully masked to compete in a contest for the best bedon.

The elaborate Mardi Gras costumes worn by krewe members of the Grand Marais Mardi Gras Association have become just as important as the Mardi Gras celebration itself.

Hundreds of sparkling stones and plumes, thousands of sequins and sparkling appliqués make up the complex costumes that have become part of a traditional Grand Marais Mardi Gras celebration that will continue to be passed down to future generations.

Competition among the two krewes of the association is fierce, but friendly, at this time of the year as krewe members work towards creating the most elaborate costume for the celebration — all in hopes of acquiring the privilege to serve as queen and king over the festivities.

Theresa Rader, public relations officer of the association, said the association selects its royalty a little differently than other area Mardi Gras krewes. The privilege of serving as royalty over the celebration is granted to the krewe members who have the most elaborate costumes. Members unveil their costumes during dance contests over a four-night period before a group of judges. Winners of each nightly event qualify to compete in the final competition to serve as royalty over the annual Grand Marais parade and festivities.

Judging is based on the overall appearance of the costume, presentation, originality and color coordination, she said.

The tradition was started 32 years ago when members of the Grand Marais community coordinated its first Mardi Gras neighborhood parade.

“The costumes were very simple when it first started and over the years they have become more elaborate, and so have the presentations,” said Rader.

Besides the fact that the costumes are detailed and complex, Rader said the most amazing part of the tradition is that the krewes design and make their own costumes.

The competition is serious among the two krewes. The Krewe of Wu-Tang and the ladies of Wu-Tang known as the “She Rebels” and the Krewe of Unknown and the ladies of the group represented as “Unknown Deavors” never reveal any of the costumes until the first competition dance.

Krewe of Wu-Tang members Jeremy Broussard, Greta Frilot and husband, Kirmet, were busy this week in a race against time to make sure the last sequin and plume would be in place before the first competition takes place Friday.

“We all work hard on this and the payoff is only face and glory, but most importantly it is about tradition,” said Broussard.

Greta Frilot said the pair of costumes her group plans to present this year for the competition will have 800 plumes on the headpieces and will be embellished with more than 1,400 sparkling rhinestones, 360 yards of sequins and 40 rhinestone stone appliqués.

“We use a hot glue gun to attach all of the decorations, so it is a lot of hard work and is time consuming,” she said.

“It’s all about keeping the tradition in place to be able pass on down to the younger generation so they will enjoy the same things we did,” said Kermit Frilot. “Our community is very small and this is one of the few things that we really celebrate.”

Children also join in the fun as they compete in their own competition to gain royalty status.

Constructing and assembling the costume is not the only difficult part of the competition, according to krewe members. Raising the funds to purchase the materials always poses a big challenge. For a krewe to design and construct one pair of costumes, complete with elaborate headpieces, may cost between $6,000 to $10,000.

Stanley Olivier, president of the Krewe of Unknown, said this means the krewes need to spend as much time with fundraisers as they do creating the costumes. Each of the krewes usually enter two pairs of newly designed costumes, but costumes from previous years can be entered again.

“This limits us to the number of costumes entered. It just depends on the amount of money we’ve raised throughout the year,” he said.

Dustin Olivier, a krewe member of The Unknown, said much of the judging is based on the presentation, so the contestants have to be prepared to move and dance in the costumes which is not always an easy feat to accomplish with headpieces alone weighing between 35 to 40 pounds.

Olivier, who is usually in charge of coming up with the design for his krewe’s costume, said many of the designs are based around family crests.

The wire frame base used for the headpiece is normally purchased out of New Orleans, but krewe members design it and add every decoration — a task that is time consuming, said Troy Decuir.

Decuir’s krewe will be using 600 plumes to construct the pair of headpieces for this year’s competition.

“It’s a lot of hard work. At the end of the season, we all have blisters on our hands from the hot glue gun and plenty of cuts, but it is all worth it. It is really about family fun,” said Decuir. “It makes me feel good to be a part of this. It’s all about taking pride in our community and traditions.”

Although Grand Marais Mardi Gras goers have become known for their elaborate costumes, they also have gained notoriety for their bedon (cone hat) disguises that appear in various Mardi Gras parades and celebrations, Leanna Cormier said.

“The cone hats and the masks are also pretty elaborate, but that’s part of our tradition. That’s what put Grand Marais on the map. Mardi Gras celebration is what this small community is known for,” she said.

At the end of the season, all of the hard work is put aside for a while and the costumes are placed in storage, but members agree the hard work and the money involved in the elaborate costumes are all worth it for the sake of tradition.

The presentation of the costumes and contest is open to the public. The Children’s Mardi Gras Dance will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. today, with costume judging set to begin at 3:30 p.m. at Mon Ami in Grand Marais. Mardi Gras dances and costume competitions will be held at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 7 p.m. March 6 and 7. Admission is $7 per person. The 2011 King and Queen will be announced on March 7.