You know the old saying “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” Well, it certainly does not apply to Mardi Gras parades in the Deep South along the gulf coast in Alabama and Mississippi. Everyone talks about New Orleans when it comes to Mardi Gras, but let me tell you, these coastal towns can party it up and celebrate just as much, if not more! But first, a trip down memory lane….
According to history, Mardi Gras first arrived in America via the Le Moyne d’Iberville brothers (Jean-Baptiste and Pierre), sent by King Louis XIV of France to lay claim, establish settlements, and defend the newly discovered Louisiana Territories in 1699.
The first official recorded Mardi Gras observance in America occured in Louisiana on Tuesday, March 3, 1699. The place was a camp established by d’Iberville, located 60 miles down river from what is today New Orleans. The camp was thus named, “Point du Mardi Gras” and the neighboring tributary “Bayou Mardi Gras” in honor of the new discovery coinciding with the French-Catholic holiday.
d’Iberville established the fist capital of the Louisiana Territory in Biloxi, Mississippi. He later moved the capital to Mobile, Alabama in 1702 after Fort Mobile was complete. This is why both Alabama and Mississippi also claim to be the birthplace of Mardi Gras celebrations in America.
The first organized Mardi Gras celebration in America occurred in 1703 in Mobile, Alabama by the early settlers of the newly established French Capital. The first official social clubs known today as “mystic societies” or “krewes”, were established shortly after in 1711.
Now fast forward to Mardi Gras 2018. We arrived on the coast of Alabama and planned to stay for two weeks, beginning January 29th. Our first parade was located in Fairhope.
We noticed that all of the floats were manned by male Krewes, mostly white and over the age of 55. This Knights of Ecor Rouge parade had the most elaborate floats out of any parade we saw.
Even though it was a bit drizzly that night, the enthusiasm from the participants was extremely high. Beads and moon pies were thrown, along with mini toys and balls.
About half of our loot landed on the wet ground due to our catching abilities, but we scooped it up. I dried everything on a towel when we got home.
The theme of the parade appeared to be video games, both old and new. A couple of high school bands played and marched down the route, scattered in between the floats.
I counted fourteen moon pies from our first parade. I love moon pies! We got chocolate, banana, vanilla, and strawberry. Next, we made it to the Mystical Order of Mirams parade in Orange Beach, but the girls could not throw far enough to reach bystanders and I counted less than eight floats. What a dud!
The rain continued as we attended a small parade in Foley. Most of the entrants were converted flatbed trailers pulled by all sorts of vehicles.
You never know what you might see. If it can be pulled and decorated, why not? The same day we headed to the Krewe of Mullet Mates parade at Mullet Point outside of Fairhope, but it was cancelled at the last minute due to rain.
Realizing that we had booked our reservation a day short of Fat Tuesday, we tried to stay for additional nights. Unfortunately, the campground was booked so we moved over to Gulfport, Mississippi for a few nights. We were able to catch some good weather and two more Mardi Gras parades!
The first one of the day was the grand parade in Biloxi. We parked near the end of the parade and waited over an hour for the parade to reach us. I didn’t mind standing in the sun and it was great people watching, for sure.
Families had been tailgating all morning while their chairs were placed in the best spots. Mississippi and Alabama allow open container drinking in public during events like this. You can probably hitch a ride on a float if you are too drunk to drive.
Most parades started with the Mardi Gras Queen and King riding on separate cars or floats. Biloxi features young royals, but Gulfport’s were quite a bit older. My local friend told me that it could cost tens of thousands of dollars to be Biloxi’s Queen or King. Wow!
Our final Fat Tuesday parade took place in Gulfport, about a mile from our beachview campground. We parked by a casino and walked over to downtown, closer to the beginning of the parade.
I think you are required to drink alcohol if you ride on a float. These parades differ from the ones in New Orleans because they are more family friendly. I know this because I did not see any naked body parts flashing. Thank goodness!
Most schools in the area are closed on Monday and Tuesday because Mardi Gras is such a big deal. Therefore, attendance is very high at the Fat Tuesday parades. We had no problems finding a good place to stand on the routes.
When you see a fire truck, you know that the parade is over. This one was my favorite.
If you want my recommendation, go to a Fairhope, Alabama parade. You won’t be disappointed. Better yet, go to as many as you can find!