Last year the parades were canceled and we had to find other ways to celebrate Mardi Gras. (Mardi Gras during Covid) This year, there is a full schedule of parades. In years past, we have enjoyed small to large parades from Fort Morgan to Mobile.
The Carnival season begins with King's Day (Feast of the Epiphany) on January 6th. Here the first parade was January 29th. Click the link above to see the volume of parades that escalate until Fat Tuesday on March 1st this year.
Normally we would have gone to one of the early parades on Dauphine Island, but the weather wasn't conducive to the Ferry ride over. So Friday, February 19th was our first parades of the season. Almost a month after the first parade here.
We opted to join the Snowbirds wintering at The Beach Club. The Resort has set up the most convenient means to enjoy a day of parades in Mobile. A charter bus picks you up at noon on the property and takes you to The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center. After crossing the bay bridge, you see hundreds of RVs camped out under the overpasses. Then you begin to see thousands of cars parked. We drive past and pull in front of the Science Center where a reserved parking spot awaits us. We step off the bus, walk 30 yards and are standing on the parade route. About 45 minutes later the fun begins.
We are actually watching 3 parades back to back. Each put on by a different Krewe.
It's not just beads. The Krewes give out "Throws." (Learn the lingo) Mainly by throwing things from the floats, but also by handing objects typically to small children as they walk or ride electric scooters in the parade. This year we came back with beads, Doubloons with Krewe name, nerf balls, giant dice, Moon Pies, Ramen Noodles, Frisbees, small stuffed animals Koozies, cups with the name of the Krewe, things that glow and a whole lot more. This is even after handing things to families with small children. (We are hoping our daughter will take some for her students.) If not, there are many uses for beads including recycling. I already started decorating the building lobby.
After the afternoon parades are complete, its off to the Science Center. Our ticket includes admission to the Science Center, its IMAX theaters and a catered dinner. We enjoyed all it had to offer and headed back outside a little after sunset.
Night parades are my favorite, as the colors of the floats stand out. Some of my favorite night parades are those on the Two Fridays before Fat Tuesday in Fairhope AL. Those floats are elaborate and brightly illuminated.
So by now, you have decided you can't wait to go to the next parade. Remember these three things:
1) Find a spot behind lots of small children as the Krewes love to throw to them and it gives you someone to unload much of the stuff you catch. Not to mention how valuable their smiles are.
2) Make eye contact with those throwing. Maybe bring a sign or stand out. I wore my red Georgia Bulldawgs hat and had several fast balls straight at my head. One guy was wearing a shirt with a large letter A and an image of an Elephant.
3) Don't take your eye off the throws, the clumps of beads and stacks of cups are intended to separate in flight. If they don't, they can hurt.
Check out the two videos below, so you can experience the crowd's excitement as Throws come their way. The other video is of The Magic City Dance Krewe "a performance and parading krewe inspired by a love of the funk and groove of 1970's and 1980's disco."
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