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. History of Mardi Gras In 1703, Mobile, Alabama was the first city recorded to have the oldest organized Mardi Gras in the U.S., according to Curious Cuisiniere. "The first documented celebration of modern-day carnival, what people think of as carnival in the United States is historically without a doubt began in Mobile. 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. The Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (formerly named the Colored Carnival Association) was founded in 1939. The Mobile Carnival Association, Mobile’s earliest Mardi Gras organization, dates back to the mid-1800s and was reformed in 1893. Each group chooses its own monarchy and court. Even earlier examples exist. 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. While Mardi Gras is commonly intertwined with New Orleans, the true history of where the celebrations started lay in Mobile, AL, around 1703, making it an over 300-year-old tradition. Whether you live around Daphne, Fairhope, or other Alabama communities, the Mardi Gras tradition remains alive and well near Spanish Fort, AL. 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 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. View and download the 2025 Mobile Mardi Gras parade schedule, complete with dates, times and routes for all Mobile & Baldwin County parades. 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 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. Toomey’s Mardi Gras is the local headquarters for Mardi Gras throws. They offer two locations – 755 McRae Avenue @ Government Street – 251-450-5012 or at the Gift Shoppe located within the Mobile Carnival Museum at 355 Government Street – 251-431-7666. The Origins of Mardi Gras. The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced back to ancient Roman festivals, particularly the pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. These festivals, held in midwinter, were marked by feasting, drinking, and a general sense of chaos and social reversal, during which societal rules were temporarily relaxed. As Mobile Bay Magazine is the premier lifestyle magazine for Mobile and Baldwin counties since 1971. Each month, Mobile Bay covers topics such as food, homes, art, local history and events. Read More 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 There is no evidence that he was ever a member of a Mobile Mardi Gras mystic society. In 1867, 10 years after Comus was established in New Orleans, the Order of Myths was founded as the first Mobile Mardi Gras parading mystic society. And, the next year the Infant Mystics were founded as the youthful “Gumdrop Rangers.”
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