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A Magical Island Kingdom ™ |
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Galveston Mardi Gras Carnival   Mardi
Gras takes place
at the very end of the long Carnival
Season that runs from 06
January to Mardi
Gras
day; the
day before Ash
Wednesday. Mardi
Gras is always on a Tuesday,
(Mardi
Gras means "Fat
Tuesday"
in French)
but the date
changes every year according to when Easter
takes place. This means Mardi
Gras
falls between February
03
and March
09.  Carnival
is celebrated
in mostly Roman
Catholic communities
around the
world, from New
Orleans to Rio de Janeiro.
The
term Mardi
Gras arose from the custom
of parading a fat ox through the
streets
on Shrove
Tuesday, the day before Ash
Wednesday,
the beginning of Lent,
as celebrated by the Catholic
Church. In
this country, Carnival
probably began in Mobile,
AL,
and it is still celebrated on the Gulf
Coast from Galveston
to
Pensacola. The parades, balls
and other Carnival
events begin
to gather steam as
Mardi Gras
approaches.  Although
Carnival
is primarily a Catholic
holiday
and celebration,
the
tradition of wild self-indulgence prior to
a period of fasting dates back to Pagan
times. The idea is to try to partake
so
heavily in the pleasures of the flesh, that it is easier to
abstain from them during
the Lenten
season.
History of Carnival in Galveston  The
first historical
record of a Carnival
event, on The Island,
was
a masked ball and
theatrical performance on Mardi
Gras of 1867. This was a
private affair
for invited guests only.  Public
celebrations
started with Mardi
Gras 1871.
Two Carnival
social
groups, or Krewes,
were formed; Knights
of Momus and Knights
of Myth. They
still had their
private masked balls and parties, but when they took their merrymaking
to the streets with torch-lit night parades; everyone in town could
enjoy Mardi
Gras!  In the
years after 1871,
the parties and balls, and parades became more and more grand and
elaborate! The tales of the festivities began to reach every corner of
the state, and other areas along The
Gulf Coast. By 1873,
people began
to travel to Galveston
to
take part in Mardi
Gras.
This included the Governor
and
state
legislators who were asked to ride in the parades as
honored guests! Sometime
in the 1880s,
the parades became so large and elaborate, that the Krewes
decided that
they were too expensive, and so they scaled back their celebrations to
their original format of private masked balls and parties.An organization called the "Kotton Karnival Kids," revived the parades in 1910.  In 1917,
one of the
masked balls marked a new peak in glamor and opulence with the first
appearance in Galveston
of King
Frivolous.
However, by 1918
celebrations were scaled back due to America's
entry into WWI. From
the end
of the War
until the late 1920s,
"Kotton
Karnival Kids", operating
under their new
name, Mystic
Merry Makers,
continued to sponsor Carnival
parades. As
the stock market crash of 1929
created financial problems for everyone,
the Galveston
Booster Club
took over the sponsorship of the parades and
other events. By 1937,
the Booster
Club merged
with the Chamber of
Commerce, who continued to
support Carnival
celebrations until 1941.
 This
country's entry into WWII,
after the 1941
Carnival Season,
ended public
celebrations for the duration, and since there was no push to get
things going again when the War
ended; the public celebration of Carnival
was lost for
decades, in Galveston!
For many years, the
only
festivities that continued were private in nature. Throughout
the years after WWII,
when Carnival
enjoyed no
public celebration in Galveston,
native
George
P. Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia,
never gave up hope that somehow this festival could be revived.Finally, when The Mitchells were ready to stage the grand opening of their fully-restored Tremont House Hotel, they decided to sponsor the first Mardi Gras events since 1941!  When
the Hotel
opened, on Ship's
Mechanic Street,
in 1985,
the people of Galveston
were primed
and ready to party in the streets, again! The
highlight of that year's Carnival
was a grand parade, through The
Strand, whose theme was "The
Age of Mythology". It
featured nine
floats, that Mitchell
had
commissioned, from renowned
New
Orleans
float-builder Blaine
Kern.
The marching bands were led
by famed jazz clarinetist Pete
Fountain,
through downtown Galveston,
to the delight of the cheering throngs!
Other activities included musical performances
and a masked ball. With
the revival of Carnival,
groups of Galvestonians
came together to form Krewes.
The first one
to re-form was the
Knights of Momusthat made its first appearance on The Island in 1871. Since 1985, Carnival has grown in size, adding many more Krewes! Carnival in Galveston Today  The current incarnation of Carnival
begins each year, as always, on 06
January, but the majority of
the
public events take place on the two weekends preceding Fat Tuesday,
with the grand finale on that day! These events include parades,
art
exhibits, sporting events, some of the balls and parties, as well as a
live-music Entertainment
District.
There is also a lot of extra live
musical entertainment, at the local clubs, bars and restaurants,which
greatly adds to the festival atmosphere!There are now about 18 Krewes that sponsor these public events in conjunction with the Galveston Park Board of Trustees. Many Krewes also hold private balls and parties throughout the entire season that are by invitation only.  Two
weeks before Mardi
Gras,
the green, gold and purple start flying all
over The
Island as the
festivities really begin to heat up! There are
typically two major parades, and two musical stages set up in the Entertainment District
on The
Strand, on the
first weekend. On a good
year, 20,000
people may
buy tickets for entry into the Entertainment
District to hear about 18
different bands. On Saturday,
the first parade
starts at 12:00
PM,
and moves
from 14th
Street to 59th
Street
along Seawall
Boulevard. Later that day, at
around 6:00
PM, a different Krewe
sponsors another parade that follows nearly the same route. As this
parade ends,
there is a fireworks display over the Gulf!  Mobile,
AL held the first Carnival
celebration in the U.S.,
(in the 18th
Century), but New
Orleans
quickly became the grand daddy of all the
current venues. The parades,
balls
and parties in Galveston
do
not hold
a candle to the celebrations in New
Orleans or even Mobile,
however,
neither Mobile
nor New
Orleans can stage parades
"ON the water". It is
a magnificent sight to see the floats against the backdrop of the blue
waters of the Gulf
of Mexico,
so Galveston
has one hell
of a pageant, in its own way!!  One of the nice things about Carnival
is
that when it rolls around, warm weather will be returning soon!! However, it is just as likely that the parades will be staged in cold weather as it is to get a day above 60 degrees. If it is a warmer year, it is even possible to see a few ladies on the beach wearing Bikinis, which is a much better indicator of weather trends than watching a groundhog! If you do see them, you know that Winter will be ending soon, and we can finally come out of hibernation!  In
New
Orleans, the
information that they give out to tourists about Carnival
is very
amusing!! They advise visitors to bring along their Sun Screen,
because
they claim it is easy to get sun burned while
spending hours outside at the parades!! It would be better if they
advised everyone to bring along heavy winter clothes to prevent
frostbite!! The weather in New Orleans
and in Galveston
is nearly the same, most of the time, and the Carnival Season,
that
runs from 06 January
to
sometime between 03
February and 09
March, is
NOT a time to be concerned with sun burn on the Northern Gulf Coast!
It
not unusual to be faced with daytime temperatures in the 40s;
or lower! However,
when it is Carnival
Season,
if you are faced with a frigid day, leave
your Sun
Screen in the
drawer, throw on a few layers of clothing, put
on your wool hats and gloves, and go to the parades. You'll be sorry if
you miss them!  The Saturday
of
the weekend right before Mardi
Gras
boasts the
grandest parade of the season; so it often draws 200,000-300,000
people! The Krewes
sponsoring this
parade begin
staging
along the Seawall in
the
late morning, and party all day until the
parade starts around 5:30
PM!
In the late afternoon, they are joined by
bus loads of marching bands that really get the neighborhood rocking as
they warm up for the parade. This parade
begins near 21st
Street
and Seawall,
turns down Rosenberg
Avenue,
and then loops
around the
downtown area before ending! Although
far less grand and expensive than parades in New Orleans,
those in Galveston
are much
more convenient to attend. Although some, who want
to hold prime viewing locations, will arrive 2-3 hours
before a parade
begins, it is easy to find a suitable position just minutes before
kickoff! In New
Orleans,
if you want to get a spot for one of the major
parades on St.
Charles Avenue,
you have to hold your place for about 24
hours before the start time!
Not our idea of fun! Of course, the secondary pleasure of
viewing a Carnival
parade
is trying to catch a lot of Throws.
In recent
times, they consist primarily of plastic beads, but there are always
moon pies, candy, balls, and other memorabilia. The classic parade
chant is "Throw to
Me Mista"!
But after awhile, if the float riders are
not doing a good job, you may be hearing, "You throw like a girl"! Fat
Tuesday is the final day of
revelry for Carnival
Season.
That evening,
about 6:00
PM, there is a Mardi
Gras parade
through the
downtown area.
Parades through the Strand
District have a very special
quality because
they are staged within the "outdoor rooms" that the Nineteenth Century
buildings create, which gives them a whole other dimension. People
line the galleries of these historical structures to add their Throws
to the ones coming off the floats, which doubles the number raining
down on the crowds lining the streets! It is your last chance to get
more before next season!When the parade is over, it's time to go to your favorite club for some live music before they pull the plug at Midnight, when Lent begins!  One of the intended side effects of
celebrating Carnival
is to
give The
Island an
economic boost after a
long Fall
and Winter
off-season, but in recent
years the amount spent
on the events has exceed the revenue generated, which has created big
losses for the Park
Board
and the City.
Even though
overall attendance
can exceed 500,000
people,
the parades cost
a lot to stage, and the Entertainment
District
shuts down business on The
Strand
for those not
willing to pay the high fees to get in the gate! A solution for a way
to continue the Carnival
celebrations
must be found!!  Krewes
Mystic Krewe of Aquarius Krewe Babalu Krewe of Barkus and Meoux Krewe of Boudreaux Krewe of Children's Parade Krewe De Rosaire Krewe Du Vroom Krewe Esprit Rosaire Krewe of Gambrinus Krewe de Gator Krewe of Harlequins Le Krewe du Lac Krewe Maximilian Krewe Momus Krewe of Munchkins Le Krewe du Soleil Stars on the Brazos Krewe Krewe of Thalasar Krewe of Venus Krewe of Who Z Krewe Apparently, other groups all over the South are forming as part of this Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The Dixie Divas of Biloxi, Mississippi use the motto, "You don't stop playing because you get old. You get old, because you stop playing". Mardi Gras Party Beads Galveston
Mardi Gras 2008
25 & 26 January 01 & 02 February Fat Tuesday 05 February  |
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