by Lola Magazine
How does a group of grandmothers, mothers, sisters and friends—women who happen to know a thing or two about Mardi Gras—decide what their community really needs is a group of women riding around in motorized bathtubs? Package up a whole lot of fun with a little mischief, toss in plenty of sparkle, tie it together with the bow of friendship and, apparently, add wheels. That is where the story of the Scrub-a-Dub Divas begins.
It started, appropriately enough, with a girls’ trip to New Orleans and a Mardi Gras parade. The friends traveled south to see the Krewe of Iris Parade, in New Orleans. As the parade rolled by, something—or, more accurately, someone—caught their attention: women in motorized bathtubs, looking like they were having the time of their lives.
Before anyone could pull the plug on the idea, Kelly Dick heard herself say, “I want to do that!” Wendy Lowe’s response was immediate, “Okay, let’s do it.” Then the calls to friends began. Just like that, North Louisiana’s Scrub-a-Dub Divas were born, and before long, they were ten members strong. But let the record show: The Scrub-a-Dub Divas are not a Mardi Gras krewe.
These women love Carnival season, but they wanted something different—a sisterhood that could roll into parades, festivals, community celebrations and special events throughout the year and beyond Louisiana. Wherever people need a reason to smile, the Divas want to show up—preferably in a bathtub. Of course, deciding to ride around town in motorized claw-foot tubs and actually building them are two very different things. Enter the husbands.
EVERY DIVA NEEDS A PIT KREWE
The search began. Claw-foot tubs—located. Motorized scooters—found. Enclosed trailers—purchased. Then came bright paint, glitter, rhinestones, feathers, plastic bubbles and anything else capable of transforming an old bathtub into a Diva-worthy ride.
The women dreamed up designs and themes while the men tackled the not-so-small task of making the bathtubs mobile. Before long, another group was born: the Scrub-a-Dub Diva Pit Krewe. Yes, the men have uniforms. Hot-pink jackets, jeweled lapels and, naturally, specially designed beads.
Before the Pit Krewe could send their Divas rolling into the streets, somebody had to make sure these contraptions actually worked. That led to one of our favorite parts of the story: grown men secretly test-driving motorized bathtubs through driveways and neighborhoods—often under the cover of darkness. After all, what would the neighbors think? For months, the operation stayed under wraps, with the women saving their big reveal for the fall edition of Lola and their debut at The Witches Ride of Minden.
NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S BATHTUB
With no two tubs alike, each Diva chose a theme, complete with coordinating costumes and hats. The tubs became extensions of the women riding them—colorful, creative, individual and just a little over the top. But beneath the rhinestones, feathers, bubbles and horsepower is something much more meaningful. These women are choosing joy.
They want children to point when they roll past and grandchildren to see them having fun. They want families to laugh and wave. They want people along a parade route to wonder what in the world they are seeing—and then smile.
Most of all, they want other women to see them and recognize that there is still plenty of life to be lived after children are grown, careers change, families evolve and life moves into its next season. Women can still do something completely unexpected. They can make new memories, be ridiculous, serve others and laugh until their sides hurt. They can climb into a rhinestone-covered motorized bathtub, put on a fabulous hat and roll right down the middle of the street.
SCRUBBING AWAY THE NEGATIVITY
Giving back was built into the organization from the beginning. As a nonprofit, the group plans to support charitable organizations meaningful to its members and use the attention generated by all that bathtub fun to make a tangible difference in the community. For these Divas, spreading joy isn’t only about making people laugh. It is also about how women treat one another.
Their bylaws include a straightforward rule: No drama. No tearing one another down. No gossip. No allowing negativity to take over something created to bring women together. Instead, they want to invest in one another, celebrate individuality, encourage friendship and remind women of the power of lifting up the person beside you.
And perhaps this sums it up best: “Together, we scrub away negativity, soak in joy, and leave every parade, event and community we serve a little brighter than we found it.” Maybe that is what this story is really about. The bathtubs are hilarious. The costumes will be fabulous. The Pit Krewe in those hot-pink, jeweled jackets may deserve a story of their own. But the magic isn’t really in the tubs.
It’s in a group of women who decided friendship deserves to be nurtured; joy deserves to be shared and growing older certainly doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. Someday, these friends hope they can sit together, look back at the photographs, remember the parades, the laughter and those ridiculous late-night bathtub test drives, and say, “I can’t believe we did that.”
We hope they do—again and again. Because sometimes the best way to make a difference is to serve. Sometimes it’s to encourage another woman. And sometimes?
You put on a fabulous hat, climb into a motorized bathtub and take your friends along for the ride.
To learn more about upcoming Scrub-a-Dub Divas events or to become a corporate sponsor, contact Kelly Dick, Captain, at scrubadubdivas@gmail.com.