Gallery
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
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 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. Mardi Gras 2021. Fast-forward to 2021: Mobile now has 80 mystic societies, which celebrate from January through Fat Tuesday every year. Except this year is different. However, many historians and researchers give the honor of originating Mardi Gras in the U.S. to another southern city: Mobile, Alabama. Mobile is located 144 miles away from New Orleans. It's that time again! Time to revisit the centuries-old argument, “Which came first: Mardi Gras in Mobile or New Orleans?” Did the first Carnival happen in Louisiana in 1699 downriver from where New Orleans would be founded, or did it occur in Alabama in 1703 in the new settlement of Mobile? Here’s what we found out. The Argument for New Mobile's Mardi Gras celebration was the first in America and remains an important part of Alabama's Gulf Coast culture. Mardi Gras was first observed when Mobile was a French colony, a century before the founding of Alabama. Today, thousands of Alabamians and visitors come to Mobile annually to participate in the various parades, which are [] What most people don’t know is that the U.S. celebration of Mardi Gras began in Mobile, Alabama. Tuesday, March 4, 2014 is Fat Tuesday the start of the Mardi Gras season. According to the U.S. Library of Congress, the annual pre-Lent celebration, began in 1703 with food, wine and parties at 27 Mile Bluff in Mobile, Alabama. The first Mardi Gras was held in Mobile, Alabama, in 1703. It was organized by French settlers who had arrived in the city the year before. On March 2, 1699, explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville created the plot known as Pointe du Mardi Gras near New Orleans. In 1703, the first "organized" Mardi Gras was held in Mobile. From 1710 to around 1860, Mobile was the center of the celebration, with the city holding parades and parties celebrating Mardi Gras. The Big Easy is almost synonymous with Mardi Gras, but some claim that Mobile, Alabama, hosted the first city-wide event. Whatever the case may be, processions of maskers with carriages and horseback riders were commonplace in New Orleans by the late 1830s. 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 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. Mardi Gras 2021. Fast-forward to 2021: Mobile now has 80 mystic societies, which celebrate from January through Mardi Gras Day every year. Except this year is different. When New Orleans embraced Mardi Gras parading in 1856, floats and costumed were borrowed from Mobile that first year. That would seem to make it a clear case that Mobile started Mardi Gras, at Where Did Mardi Gras Originate Mobile Alabama? The Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama are believed to have originated with the French Catholic settlers who arrived in the area in the late 17th century. These early celebrations were usually private affairs, held in houses or at public balls. When most people think of Mardi Gras, New Orleans comes to mind. Mardi Gras actually began in Mobile, Alabama – a port city with close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, located about 140 When Is Mardi Gras In Mobile Alabama? The 2025 Mardi Gras celebration in the City of Mobile, Alabama begins on February 14 and continues through March 4, marking the city’s grand carnival season. This festive period stands as a testament to the rich history of Mobile Alabama Mardi Gras, dating back to 1703 when the tradition first started here. On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans, and named it "Pointe du Mardi Gras" when his men realized it was the eve of the festive holiday. Bienville also established "Fort Louis de la Louisiane" (which is now Mobile) in 1702. 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. Mardi Gras Trivia. Did you know these fun facts? Mardi Gras, meaning “Fat Tuesday” in French, is a day to indulge in rich foods before the fasting of Lent. New Orleans bursts into a kaleidoscope of parades, costumes, and beads during its world-famous Mardi Gras celebrations.
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |