Mardi Gras in Mobile?

[bumbles]

While poking around the Mobile.org website I found out we'd be there when a few Mardi Gras parades would occur in the downtown area. Are these worth going to...and are they a bit tamer than the ones in NO?

[lmcpark]

Absolutely! And much tamer! More of a family atmosphere if you will. Will you be staying downtown? If so you will be unable to avoid them. Let me know which dates you will be here and I can give you more info and which parades are a "must see".

 

Linda

[lmcpark]

Bumbles,

 

Checkout MobileMardiGras.com.

[gumbolady]

Hey Bumbles!

 

Mardi Gras in Mobile is very tame. It is a good time though! If you have never been to a parade where you actually get to catch something, it is a must!:D

 

We have family in Mobile & are considering going to stay with them on the Sat. before Mardi Gras, so we can do a couple parades with them & they can drive us to the port on Monday morning.

 

Be sure to try the Moon Pies that you will catch at the parades! That is a purely Mobile thing, as NOLA parades don't throw Moon Pies. :p

 

Can't wait to get on that cruise!

[dixieagle]

Hi there,

 

We live in Mobile and Mardi Gras is a big darn deal here (was quite a surprise to this long-ago transplanted Bostonian!) In fact, this is where Mardi Gras in the U.S. originated, and then migrated to New Orleans.

 

The best parade is the Mystics of Time on the Saturday before Mardi Gras. (Mardi Gras 2009 is February 24.) Hotel rooms are at a premium then, with 2-3 minimum night requirements for most of the downtown hotels. That Sunday before M.G. is "Joe Cain Day", sort of a "people's procession" commemorating Joe Cain, who resurrected Mardi Gras after the Civil War.

 

On Mardi Gras day itself, there are parades starting in the morning (the Comic Cowboys, who poke irreverent fun at local politicians and public figures are a hoot.) The last parade, on Mardi Gras night, is the Order of Myths, (there was a recent award winning documentary by the same name detailing the Mardi Gras culture here.)

 

It's fun, very entertaining, and not nearly as wild as New Orleans. If you can catch some of it, you'll enjoy it.

[lmcpark]

MMMMmmmm! Put a moonpie in the mocrowave for 30 seconds! Heavenly! I only like the original ones from Tennessee though. :D

[bumbles]

Thanks for all the responses and the links to the website! We'll be flying in late Saturday evening into Gulfport so we'll only have Sunday the 22nd to see any of the festivities. Sounds like a great time!