Gallery
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Mobile Carnival poster from 1900. Floats lining up for an Order of Inca parade in 2007. Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama.It is the oldest official Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. Although The Big Easy in Louisiana is perhaps best-known for its Mardi Gras revelry, the port city of Mobile, Alabama, founded in 1702 by French settlers, lays claim to being the city that first Carnival, American Style: Mardi Gras at Mobile and New Orleans. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. "Mardi Gras in Mobile: Excerpts from the 1908 Diary of Young Visitor, Senta Jones." Gulf Coast Historical Review 11 (Spring 1996): 69-76. Mardi Gras Vertical Files, Mobile Public Library Local History and Genealogy Section, Mobile, Alabama. Start your Mardi Gras adventure in Mobile at the Mobile Carnival Museum. The Mobile Carnival Museum highlights the history of Mardi Gras in its true birthplace - Mobile, Alabama. The museum features 14 galleries, video presentations, a pictorial hallway and an interactive float area - all in a restored historic mansion. If you can get there early enough, visit Mobile’s Carnival Museum, which documents the holiday’s 300-year history, before hitting the festivities. The museum includes more than dozen rooms and is filled with historical photographs, elaborate costumes and crowns, parade videos and even a life-sized interactive replica float. Experience: Carnival, the extended Mardi Gras season, is Mobile, Alabama’s, greatest living tradition. First introduced to the United States in Mobile by the French in the early 18 th Century, Mobile is the original home to Mardi Gras in the US. The celebrations are increasing grander and more diverse with each passing year. Related Reading: History of the Mardi Gras King Cake. Fun Facts About Mardi Gras in Mobile . 1. The celebration’s traditional motif is green, purple, and gold. Gold and purple have always been the colors of Mardi Gras in Mobile. Purple has long been associated with European royal dynasties. It is also the liturgical color of Lent in Christianity. Mobile Carnival Museum. The Mobile Carnival Museum is a history museum that chronicles over 300 years of Carnival and Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. The museum is housed in the historic Bernstein-Bush mansion on Government Street in downtown Mobile Mobile’s Mardi Gras traditions trace back to 1703 when French settlers held the first celebration to commemorate their first year of survival in the community they built. Today, the lively festivities showcase a variety of cultural influences and feature parades, elaborate costumes and other prized traditions. But hope and gaiety were soon revived in 1866 by a Mobilian named Joseph Stillwell Cain. Joe Cain revived Mardi Gras and mysticism. Carnival is deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of the city. Today, there are over 80 mystic societies in Mobile, with more than 38 of them parading during the 2 ½ weeks leading up to Mardi Gras Day. Mobile, Alabama is the mother of mystics, the original birthplace of Mardi Gras as we know it! Each year, the city and its surrounding communities come together for weeks of parades, masked balls, MoonPies and merry-making leading up to Fat Tuesday, a season that is collectively known as Mardi Gras. Originated in 1703, Mobile is THE birthplace of America's original Mardi Gras. Joe Cain is the man. He brought Mardi Gras back to life after the Civil War by leading an impromptu parade down the streets of Mobile and we've been doing it ever since. He has a whole day dedicated to him during 600 points = A strand of Mardi Gras beads from Toomey's 1,000 points = A Visit Mobile magnet handcrafted by MuffinJaw Designs Studio Please note: Visit Mobile is not responsible for paying admission fees to the Mobile Carnival Museum and History Museum of Mobile. All associated fees and costs must be paid for by the "Mobile Mardi Gras In 1704, Mobile established a secret society (Masque de la Mobile), similar to those that form our current Mardi Gras krewes. It lasted until 1709. In 1710, the "Boeuf Gras Society" was formed and paraded from 1711 through 1861. French for Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras is always on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year it will be held on Tuesday Feb. 13. Mardi Gras is only one day but the Mardi Gras season, also known as the carnival season, can last for weeks culminating on Fat Tuesday. Many people assume that New Orleans is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. However, many Mardi Gras Park's concert list along with photos, videos, and setlists of their past concerts & performances. Mobile Carnival Museum. The Mobile Carnival Museum is a history museum that chronicles over 300 years of Carnival and Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. The museum is housed in the historic Bernstein-Bush mansion on Government Street in downtown Mobile Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. It's most famously celebrated with parades in New Orleans View and download the 2025 Mobile Mardi Gras parade schedule, complete with dates, times and routes for all Mobile & Baldwin County parades. Mardi Gras in Mobile – America’s Original Carnival Celebration. Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebrations center on downtown and emanate throughout the city and the entire Gulf Coast region. When: Friday, Feb. 14–Tuesday, March 4; Where: Various places, mostly downtown Mobile; Details: Mardi Gras Essentials Guide; Joe Cain Day
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |