pays dues
Belgium
In the Belgian city of Binche the "Mardi Gras" is the most important day of the year and the summit of the Carnival of Binche Around 1000 Gilles can be found dancing throughout the city from in the morning until well past dark whilst traditional carnival songs play. In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.Brazil
In Brazil, the Carnival celebrations in Recife, Salvador are well-known with the most notable being that one held in Rio de Janeiro. The celebrations of Carnival end on Mardi Gras. Thousands of people from across Brazil and also from other parts of the world come to attend the festivities.Recife
Recife is home to several noted Carnival celebrations. One famous event is the "Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos". Recife's Carnival is nationally known and attracts thousands of people every year. The party starts a week before the official date, with electric trios "shaking" the Boa Viagem district. On Friday, people take to the streets to enjoy themselves to the sound of frevo and to dance with maracatu, ciranda, caboclinhos, afoxé, reggae and manguebeat (cultural movement created in Recife during the 90s) groups. There are still many other entertainment poles spread out around the city, featuring local and national artists. One of the highlights is Saturday when more than one million people follow the Galo da Madrugada group. From Sunday to Monday, there is the Night of the Silent Drums, on the Pátio do Terço, where Maracatus honor slaves that died in prisons and jails too!
Rio de Janeiro
The Carnival is an annual celebration in Brazil held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent. Rio de Janeiro has many Carnival choices, including the famous Escolas de Samba (Samba schools) parades in the sambódromo exhibition centre and the popular 'blocos de carnaval', which parade in almost every corner of the city. The most famous parades are the Cordão do Bola Preta with traditional carnaval parades in the centre of the city, the Suvaco do Cristo parades in the Botanic Garden, Carmelitas parades in the hills of Santa Teresa, the Simpatia é Quase Amor is one of the most popular parades in Ipanema, and the Banda de Ipanema which attracts a wide range of revelers, including families and a wide spectrum of the gay population (notably spectacular drag queens).
Salvador
According to the Guinness Book, the carnival or Carnaval of Salvador de Bahia is the biggest street party on the planet. For an entire week, almost two million people join the city's street celebrations, which are divided into circuits: Barra/Ondina, Campo Grande and Pelourinho. The music played during Carnaval includes Axé and Samba-reggae. Many "blocos" participate in Carnaval, the "blocos afros" like Malé Debalé, Olodum and Filhos de Gandhi being the most famous of them.Caribbean nations
In the Caribbean, Carnival is celebrated on a number of islands: Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominica,Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago and United States Virgin Islands are some of the celebrants.
Colombia
Several Colombian cities celebrate carnivals in the period between Twelfth Night and Mardi Gras. The most important of these celebrations is Barranquilla's Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla), which starts on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday and ends on Mardi Gras. The roots of Barranquilla's Carnival date back to the 19th century, and is reputed for being second in size to Rio's, but is far less commercialized. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed by UNESCO, in November 2003, as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.France
The city of Nice, France records that in the year of 1294, the Comte de Provence Charles II, Duc d’Anjou began taking his holidays in Nice to take part in the festivities of Carnival complete with balls, masquerades, bonfires, jugglers, mimes, and more. All that was required to take part was a costume and a mask. So much revelery was had that even the church could not control the more obsene aspects. The city's records, however, show that the celebration hit a high note in the period of time they call the Belle Époque, in the late 19th century to early 20th century before the World Wars. The city of Nice still celebrates Mardi Gras with parades of flower covered floats and brilliant night-time light displays.Germany
The celebration of Mardi Gras in Germany is called Karneval, Fastnacht, or Fasching. Fastnacht means "Eve of the Beginning of the Fast", and thus it is celebrated until the day before Ash Wednesday. The most famous parades are held in Düsseldorf, Köln (Cologne), and Mainz on Monday before Ash Wednesday on "Rosenmontag" i.e. Lundi Gras.Guatemala
The main celebration of Mardi Gras in Guatemala is in Mazatenango.India
In Goa, India, the Carnival is celebrated for three days culminating on Fat Tuesday. Goa was a Portuguese colony until 1961. In Kerala State the carnival parade is called "Rasa" (fun in Sanskrit) and happens on the night before Ash Wednesday. There are typically no masks in the celebration, unlike in Goa.Italy
Venice
Venice is home to one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world, in addition to one of the oldest. The Carnival of Venice (or Carnevale di Venezia in Italian) was first recorded in 1268. The subversive nature of the festival is reflected in the many laws created over the centuries in Italy attempting to restrict celebrations and often banning the wearing of masks. Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival, traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, at the start of the Carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. As masks were also allowed during Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise 
Maskmakers (mascherari) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own guild. In 1797 Venice became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798 and it fell into a decline which also effectively brought Carnival celebrations to a halt for almost two centuries. Carnival was outlawed by the fascist government in the 1930s. It was not until a modern mask shop was founded in the 1980s that Carnival enjoyed a revival.
Mexico
In Mexico, there are big Carnival celebrations every year in Mazatlán, which has "The third largest Mardi Gras in the world", and Veracruz, which that include the election of a queen and street parades. There is also a week-long Carnival or Mardi Gras celebration in Mérida, Yucatán. Ocozocoautla de Espinosa, Chiapas also holds a Carnival with a mix of Christian and indigenous elements.Panama
Carnival is celebrated in several Panamanian cities such as Las Tablas, Ocu, Chitre, Penonomé and Panama City. Carnival in this country is characterized by the soaking of people mainly via the use of water trucks and hoses. The celebrations tend to last through a four day holiday weekend.Slovenia
In Slovenia it is called Kurentovanje. It's from the word Kurent which is the name of a mask, made of sheep skin and richly decorated. People make noise with bells attached on their hips. It's also one of the traditions to eat doughnuts.Spain
In Spain it's called 'Carnaval'. The Carnival in Chipiona Carnaval in Chipiona is without doubt the festival that represents the Spanish town the most. It's celebrated in the month of February and coincides with the date of the festival held in the capital of the province, Cádiz. Even though it's official duration is just 10 days, for at least a month before, there are activities which are always held in the peñas and by various organizations.Sweden
In Sweden the celebration is called Fettisdagen. It comes from the word "fett" (fat) and "tisdag" (Tuesday). Originally, this was the only day one should eat "Semlor" (Semla) (fat Tuesday buns), but these are now found in most grocery stores and bakeries preceding the holiday, and up until EasterUnited States
While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of cities and regions in the country have notable celebrations. Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a sedate French Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne brothers, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in the late 17th century, when King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.The expedition, led by Iberville, entered the mouth of the Mississippi River on the evening of March 2, 1699, Lundi Gras, not yet knowing it was the river explored and claimed for France by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1683. The party proceeded upstream to a place on the west bank about 60 miles downriver from where New Orleans is today, where a small tributary emptied into the great river, and made camp. This was on March 3, 1699, Mardi Gras day, so in honor of this holiday, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point") and called the small tributary Bayou Mardi Gras. enlou Bienville went on to found the settlement of Mobile, Alabama in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana, and in 1703 the Mardi Gras tradition began with celebrations by the French settlers in that city. By 1720, Biloxi had been made capital of Louisiana. The French customs were introduced there at that time. In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans, founded in 1718. The tradition there expanded to the point that it became synonymous with that city. In more recent times several other U.S. cities without a French Catholic heritage have instituted the celebration of Mardi Gras.
Alabama
Mobile
Mobile's Carnival and Mardi Gras celebrations revolve around mystic societies. The mystic societies are organizations, very similar to a krewe in New Orleans, that presents parades, masked balls, and activities for the enjoyment of its members, guests, and the public. Mystic society membership is secret. The mystic societies build colorful Carnival floats and parade throughout downtown Mobile during the Carnival season with masked society members tossing small gifts, known as throws, to the parade spectators, in the form of trinkets, candy, cookies, peanuts, panties, artificial roses, stuffed animals, doubloons, cups, hats, can coolers, Frisbees, medallion necklaces, bead necklaces of every variety, and Moon Pies. Mobile's mystic societies give formal masquerade balls, known as bal masqués, which are almost always invitation only and are oriented to adults. Attendance at a ball requires a strict dresscode, or costume de rigueur, be followed. The dresscode usually involves full-length evening gowns, white tie with tails for invited guests, and masked costumes for society members. The balls feature dramatic entertainment, music, dancing, food, and drinks. Balls are usually based upon a theme which is carried out through scenery, decorations, costumes, and a tableau vivant.
Mobile first celebrated Carnival in 1703 when French settlers began the festivities at the Old Mobile Site. Mobile's first Carnival society was organized in 1704, when Nicholas Langlois founded Societe de Saint Louis, reformed in 1711 as the Boeuf Gras Society (Fatted Ox Society, 1711-1861). Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade in 1830. The Cowbellions got their start when a cotton factor from Pennsylvania, Michael Krafft, began a parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells. The Cowbellions introduced horse-drawn floats to the parades in 1840 with a parade entitled, "Heathen Gods and Goddesses". The Striker's Independent Society was formed in 1843 and is the oldest remaining mystic society in the United States. The idea of parading societies was exported to New Orleans in 1856 when six businessmen, formerly of Mobile, gathered at a club room in New Orlean's French Quarter to organize a secret society, inspired by the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, that would observe Mardi Gras with a formal parade. They founded New Orleans' first and oldest krewe, the New Orleans Cowbellions, which later became the Mistick Krewe of Comus. Carnival celebrations in Mobile were cancelled during the American Civil War. Mardi Gras parades were revived by Joe Cain in 1866 when he paraded through the city streets on Fat Tuesday while costumed as a fictional Chickasaw chief named Slacabamorinico, irreverently celebrating the day in front of the occupying Union Army troops. The Order of Myths, Mobile's oldest mystic society which continues to parade, was founded in 1867 and held its first parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868. The Infant Mystics also begin to parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868, but later moved their parade to Lundi Gras (Fat Monday). The Mobile Carnival Association was formed in 1871 to coordinate the events of Mardi Gras, this year also saw the First Royal Court held with the first king of Carnival, Emperor Felix I. The Comic Cowboys of Wragg Swamp were established in 1884, along with their mission of satire and free expression. The Continental Mystic Crew mystic society was founded in 1890, it was Mobile's first Jewish mystic society. The Order of Doves mystic society was founded in 1894 and held its first Mardi Gras ball. It was the first organized African American mystic society in Mobile. The Infant Mystics, the second oldest society that continues to parade, introduced the first electric floats to Mobile in 1929. The Colored Carnival Association was founded and had its first parade in 1939, it would later be renamed the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association. The Order of Osiris, the first gay and lesbian mystic society in Mobile, held its first ball in 1980. The 1st Mobile International Carnival Ball was held in 1995 with every known Mobile mystic society in attendance. The year 2002 saw Mobile's Tricentennial celebrated with parades representing every known mystic society.
Arizona
Lake Havasu City
2009 will be the inaugural year for the first Mardi Gras in this city known for being an international spring break location. The event is being planned as a traditional Mardi Gras, but with the flavor of the southwest. This event is a project involving BLM, state and city entities, a combination of an off-road poker run through the majestic mountains of Arizona along with a crawfish festival are just two of the events planned. Main Street along with London Bridge will be the back drop for the traditional Mardi Gras parade. Information for the event can be found at Havasu Mardi GrasCalifornia
San Diego
As of 2005, there is a corporate sponsored party in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego. In addition there is a San Diego Brazil Carnival Ball that is part of the San Diego Carnival Mardi Gras season.San Luis Obispo
Mardi Gras celebrations in San Luis Obispo have been controversial in recent years, with leaders of this Central California city calling for an end to public celebrations in 2005. Civic and university leaders hope to end the event as a state-wide party destination for students.Florida
Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida hosts a Mardi Gras Celebration. The Pensacola celebrations also use Moon Pies in combination with beads, coins, candies & Krewe related trades. The Pensacola festivities and the Krewes that sponsor them often are more light-hearted and family-oriented than some in other venues. The name of a number of the Krewes are puns of the names of historic Krewes in New Orleans and Mobile.Pensacola's founding was predominantly Spanish as opposed to the French which dominated the settlement of Mobile and of New Orleans. Pensacola picked up on the "parading" celebration of Mardi Gras in the late 1980s. Pensacola has its parades before Mardi Gras weekend; their parades being on Friday night ("Krewe of Lafitte"), Saturday afternoon (the "Grand Parade"), and the "Krewe of Wrecks" parade on Pensacola Beach on Sunday. They currently have no parades on Mardi Gras day itself.
The krewes in Pensacola are smaller than in Mobile or New Orleans, so typically a parade has floats sponsored by numerous different krewes, rather than a single krewe having their own parade.
Louisiana
For Mardi Gras Dates through 2050 see: Mardi Gras DatesNew Orleans
New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebration draws hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city to the celebrate with the locals at the famed parties and parades. The first Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans were held on March 3, 1699. On that day, a group of French explorers set camp on the west bank of the Mississippi River, about 60 miles downriver from the current site of New Orleans. The group's leader, Pierre Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville dubbed the spot La Pointe du Mardy Gras. The Rex organization put a marker at the Louisiana site 300 years later. An account from 1743 notes that the custom of holding Carnival balls was established by that date (during the time Bienville was governor). On Mardi Gras, there were masks and processions in the streets of the city, although they were, at times, prohibited by law. The celebrations were quickly resumed whenever restrictions were lifted or the enforcement of them was lax. In 1833, Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville, a rich plantation owner, raised the money to fund an official Mardi Gras celebration. On Mardi Gras of 1857 the Mistick Krewe of Comus held its first parade. Comus is the oldest continuously active Mardi Gras organization and originated a number of traditions that continue today (such as the use of floats in parades) and is considered the first Carnival krewe in the modern sense of the term. In 1875 Mardi Gras was declared a legal holiday by the state of Louisiana. Economic, political, and weather conditions sometimes led to the cancellation of some or all of the major parades, especially during the American Civil War, World War I and World War II, but the celebration of Carnival has always been observed in the city in some way. The last large parades went through the narrow streets of the city's old French Quarter neighborhood in 1972; Larger floats and crowds and safety concerns led the city government to prohibit big parades in the Quarter. In 1991, the New Orleans city council passed an ordinance that required social organizations, including Mardi Gras Krewes, to certify publicly that they did not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, in order to obtain parade permits and other public licenses. The ordinance required these and other private social groups to abandon their traditional code of secrecy and identify their members for the city's Human Relations Commission. In protest, the 19th century krewes Comus and Momus stopped parading. Proteus did parade in the 1992 Carnival season, but then suspended its parade until 2000 when they returned to the parade schedule. Two federal courts later declared that the ordinance was an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment rights of free association, and an unwarranted intrusion on the privacy of the groups subject to the ordinance. The Supreme Court refused to hear the city's appeal of their decision. Today, many krewes operate under a business structure - membership is basically open to anyone who pays dues to have a place on a parade float.
The effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans in late 2005 caused many to question the future of the city's Mardi Gras celebrations. The city government, essentially bankrupt after the storm, pushed for a massively scaled back celebration to limit strains on city services. However, many krewes insisted that they wanted to and would be ready to parade, so negotiations between krewe leaders and city officials resulted in a compromise schedule, scaled back but less severely than originally suggested. The 2006 New Orleans' Carnival schedule included the Krewe du Vieux on its traditional route through Marigny and the French Quarter on February 11, the Saturday two weekends before Mardi Gras, then several parades on Saturday, the 18th, and Sunday the 19th, a week before Mardi Gras, followed by six days of parades starting Thursday night, the 23rd, until Mardi Gras Day, the 28th. Other than Krewe du Vieux and two Westbank parades that went through Algiers, all New Orleans parades were restricted to the Saint Charles Avenue Uptown to Canal Street route, a section of the city which escaped significant flooding (some krewes unsuccessfully pushed to parade on their traditional Mid City route, despite the severe flood damage suffered by the neighborhood). Restrictions were placed on the amount of time parades could be on the street and how late they could go. Louisiana State troopers and National Guard assisted with crowd control for the first time since 1979. Many of the floats had been partially submerged in the floodwaters for weeks. While some krewes repaired and removed all traces of these effects, others incorporated flood lines and other damage into the designs of the floats. Most of the locals who worked on the floats and rode on them were significantly impacted by the storm, and many had lost most or all of their possessions, but their enthusiasm for Carnival was even more intense than usual and celebrated as an affirmation of life. The themes of many costumes and floats had more barbed satire than usual, with commentary on the trials and tribulations of living in the devastated city, with references to MREs, Katrina refrigerators and FEMA trailers, along with much mocking of FEMA, local, and national politicians.
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana hosts eight parades, including the Krewe of Jupiter and Spanish Town. Parades such as the Krewe of Orion offer more of a traditional New Orleans style parade. All parades take place downtown, with the exception of the annual Southdowns parade, which runs through the Southdowns subdivision just south of Downtown Baton Rouge.New Roads
New Roads, Louisiana hosts the state's oldest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans. The family-friendly celebration has been an annual event since 1922 and includes two parades on Fat Tuesday: the Community Center Carnival parade, one of the nation's oldest African-American sponsored events, which rolls in the morning; and the New Roads Lions Carnival parade, the first-known Mardi Gras parade to be staged as a charitable fundraiser, which rolls in the afternoon. Each parade consists of as many as 30 floats built fresh each year and 10 marching bands and drill units. Law enforcement officials have estimated New Roads parade attendance as high as 80,000.Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana is home to the state's third largest Mardi Gras celebration, which includes eight parades of floats and bands during the Carnival season. The first parade, ten days before Mardi Gras, is the celebrity-led Krewe of Carnivale en Rio Parada, featuring over 600 riders. Parade royalty on Fat Tuesday includes King Gabriel and Queen Evangeline, named for the hero and heroine of Longfellow's epic poem, and King Toussaint L'Overture and Queen Suzanne Simonet, named for the great Haitian historical figures. Mardi Gras parades have been an annual tradition in Lafayette since 1934 and attendance on Mardi Gras day has been estimated as high as 250,000 by police spokespersons. The first formal Mardi Gras ball and parade in Lafayette dates back to 1869 and they haven't stopped celebrating Fat Tuesday here since. In 1897, King Attakapas, the first Lafayette Mardi Gras king was crowned. He rode into town on a Southern Pacific train decorated to look like a royal throne and led the parade. After 1897, formal Mardi Gras parades and balls seemed to come and go until 1934 when the Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras association was formed by representatives from civic and service organizations to ensure that Lafayette would always have a Mardi Gras celebration.Houma
Houma, Louisiana hosts a significant Mardi Gras celebration of nine parades, two of which roll on Mardi Gras day, and the others on the two weekends preceding the big day. King Houmas rules on Fat Tuesday itself, and more than 150,000 have been estimated by law enforcement officials to line the route of his parade in 2008. Mardi Gras has been celebrated annually in Houma since 1947. Krewe of Hercules, Krewe of Aquarius, Krewe of Hyacinthians, Krewe of Aphrodite, Krewe of Mardi Gras, Krewe of Terreanians, Krewe of Cleopatra, Krewe of Houmas, and the Krewe of Kajuns make up the nine parades. For the 2009 Mardi Gras party, Houma is adding a new parade, Krewe of Tut, making the total amount 10, which makes it the second largest in the state. Houma is only about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.Go to www.houmatoday.com for updates.
Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana, which is located in the heart of Central Louisiana (CenLa), enjoys a blend of Mardi Gras traditions, in keeping with the area's reputation as the "cultural crossroads" of the state. In addition to Mardi Gras balls, parties, and other functions, it hosts several parades, including the Alexandria Mardi Gras Association (AMGA) Krewe Parade, traditionally on the Sunday before Mardi Gras, a Children's parade, and the Krewe of Provine Parade, usually held on Mardi Gras Day. In 2008, the "College Cheerleaders and Classic Cars" parade made its debut with warm reception. The area's parades are known for their mix of traditional Mardi Gras fun and revelry with a family-friendly environment, with many people from as far away as Texas and Mississippi traveling to Alexandria for Mardi Gras.Other Louisiana cities
Other cities as well hold Mardi Gras parades, including Thibodeaux, where five parades attract an estimated 20,000 spectators each, Lake Charles, Shreveport, La Place, Minden, Springhill, Natchitoches, Monroe, Columbia, Kaplan and Bogalusa. Mardi Gras is one of the exceptions to the Louisiana law against wearing hoods and masks in public, the other two being Halloween and religious beliefs.In parts of the Cajun country, such as Eunice, Basile, Church Point and Mamou, the traditional Courir de Mardi Gras (French for the "Mardi Gras Run") is still run, sometimes by maskers on horseback led by "Le Capitaine" who gather ingredients for making the communal meal (usually a gumbo). Participants gather in costume and move from home to home requesting ingredients for the night's meal. This rural Mardi Gras draws on traditions that are centuries old as revelers sing "La Chanson de Mardi Gras", a song echoing medieval melodies. People escape from ordinary life partly through the alcohol many consume in their festive quest, but even more through the roles they portray. As they act out their parts in a wild, gaudy pageant, they are escaping from routine existence, freed from the restraints that confine them every other day in the year. The capitaine maintains control over the Mardi Gras. He issues instructions to the riders as they assemble early in the morning and then leads them on their run. When they arrive at a farm house, he obtains permission to enter private property, after which the riders may charge toward the house, where the Mardi Gras sing, dance, and beg until the owner offers them an ingredient for a gumbo. Often, the owner will throw a live chicken into the air that the Mardi Gras will chase, like football players trying to recover a fumble. By mid to late afternoon, the courir returns to town and parades down the main street on the way to the location where the evening gumbo will be prepared.
Michigan
Detroit
Michigan's first Catholic settlers were French, but the Fat Tuesday celebrations of modern times in Detroit stem from more the recent influence of the Polish Paczki Day.Mississippi
Gulf Coast
Biloxi, Mississippi holds a traditional morning parade by the Gulf Coast Carnival Association (GCCA) Nearby Gulfport, holds a traditional night parade sponsored by the Krewe of Gemini. Other parades include evening events in Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, D'Iberville, Gautier, Mississippi, Waveland, Bay St. Louis, and Pass Christian, Mississippi just to name a few. Damage from Hurricane Katrina had led to either deviations from traditional routes or parade cancellations in some locations. They have since become a sign of rebuilding along the coast line. Traditions in Mississippi are closely tied into those of New Orleans, Louisiana and typically the larger floats used in the Mississippi parades by the casinos are actually built in New Orleans. Schools on the gulfcoast usually let out during the 3 day holiday so that they can attend the parades. Much like Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Lousiana; The Mississippi Gulf Coast has its own unique societies and Mardi Gras Associations that participate in the float building and anual balls. Most of these parades and balls operate the along the largest main roads of the coast, being Highway 90 and Highway 49. The Biloxi Parade, prior to Katrina, consisted of a morning, noon and night parade. It has since downgraded to 2 parades.Missouri
St. Louis
With the area having been claimed as part "Louisiana" and in 1763, Pierre Laclède and a small band of men traveled up the Mississippi from New Orleans to found a post to take advantage of trade coming downstream by the Missouri River, St. Louis, Missouri can claim some French Catholic heritage.. St. Louis hosts the annual St. Louis Mardi Gras festival in the Soulard neighborhood, usually attracting tens of thousands of revelers. The size of the crowd varies greatly from year to year, with the weather being the biggest factor in determining crowd size. The event is much like the New Orleans celebration in that it hosts several parades during the Mardi Gras season. On the second Saturday before Mardi Gras, there is a family-oriented "Krewe of Barkus" Beggin' Strips pet parade. Participants consist of anyone who dresses up their pet in costume, and walks their pet along the parade route. The parade is followed by the informal Wiener dog races. Then, on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday, the more adult-oriented, flesh-for-beads parade occurs, although there have been various attempts to reserve a family section at one end of the route. People from all over storm the streets with beers and bead necklaces after the Saturday parade. The streets of Soulard, Geyer, Allen, Russell, Ann, Shenandoah, and others are crowded with people from 7th to 12th Street. The Fat Tuesday parade occurs in the evening, and in recent years has been moved just north of Soulard to downtown St. Louis.Texas
It started somewhere around 1960 and its last recorded celebration in 2008Galveston
Galveston, Texas is home to the largest Mardi Gras festival in Texas. The island tradition began in 1867, and includes night parades, masked balls and exquisite costumes.Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Texas is home to a very fast-growing Mardi Gras celebration. It began in 1992.References
External links
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Last updated on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 20:26:21 PDT (GMT -0700)
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