Fat Tuesday -- undoubtedly the most celebrated Tuesday of the year -- is known to most people by its French name, Mardi Gras. For Catholics, Mardi Gras has long been a day of feasting and celebration to prepare for the fasting which occurs during Lent. For scores of others, however, Mardi Gras is a festive party marked by parades put on by secret societies called krewes, where elaborate floats and costumed revelers throw everything from beads to doubloons to candy -- even voodoo dolls -- to the beckoning masses. Mardi Gras is always 46 days before Easter, but celebrations usually begin on the 12th night -- that's January 6th, twelve days after Christmas. Whether you call it Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, we simply call it a good time -- and here are ten of the country’s best celebrations.
New Orleans, LA
While most people associate Mardi Gras in the United States with New Orleans, the truth is that while the city may hold the most raucous and famous celebration in the US, the tradition of parading through the streets on Fat Tuesday actually started a little further east along the Gulf Coast. But NOLA is indeed the Granddaddy of them all, as the Big Easy offers up more than 50 parades and countless masked balls in the city and adjacent Metairie; in the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, there’s a major parade every day. Most of the big parades just skim the French Quarter, as the streets are much too narrow to allow the elaborate floats easy passage.
Mobile, AL
It's a well-forgotten fact that Mardi Gras first started in Mobile in 1703 (masked balls were held privately in New Orleans as early as 1718), when French pioneers marked the day; in 1711 the carnival aspect of Mardi Gras kicked in when festive residents pulled a papier-mâché bull down Dauphin Street in what is thought to be the first carnival parade in North America. Here, parade-goers catch more than beads and doubloons at the 40-plus parades, as a half-million Moon Pies will also be tossed from floats. Don't come to Mobile expecting much in the way of bare flesh, as the city makes no bones about the fact that it’s Mardi Gras is a family celebration; a family-friendly atmosphere prevails and good behavior rules the day.
Galveston, TX
Texas' island city is rich with history and heritage, and Mardi Gras on Galveston is as much about the exclusive invitation-only balls as it is about the parades, of which there are 11. The parade routes are perhaps the most scenic of US Mardi Gras celebrations, with parades proceeding along the Gulf of Mexico and then turning into the city’s historic district. The unofficial band of Mardi Gras in Galveston is the Philadelphia Mummers -- the flamboyant band performs at a number of parties as well as in two of the largest parades. There's even a huge parade just for children, with specially made doubloons the kids throw to adoring crowds mostly made up of their parents.
St. Louis, MO
Toto, we're not in New Orleans any more. In St. Louis' historic Soulard district, there are wiener dog races, pet parades, house decorating contests in which the public gets to hop on trolleys to view the homes and help pick the winners, wine tastings, live music festivals, a children’s art fair and oh, yeah -- a few parades. This year’s theme is ‘Let the Games Begin’; some of the more whimsical floats feature the Gong Show, Monopoly, Dance Dance Revolution and Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots.
New Roads, LA
There are just two krewes which put on parades in Point Coupee Parish, the self-proclaimed Little Carnival Capital of the World. The town of New Roads, about 35 minutes north of Baton Rouge, sits on the scenic False River and plays host to the parish parades. The annual parade put on by the Community Center Krewe is Louisiana’s fourth oldest parade, and one of the oldest African American Mardi Gras celebrations in the country. New Roads other krewe is the Lions Club; despite being small organizations, both parades offer 30+ new floats every year.
Hollywood, FL
Since its inception in 1935, Hollywood, Florida's annual Mardi Gras celebration has been a little bit of everything. It started as a festival of nations to celebrate different cultures, and then became more of a tropical fiesta to lure northerners. Finally, a Mardi Gras spin with street parades was added, creating today’s Mardi Gras Fiesta Tropicale. The festivities include just one parade, but plenty of live music on a variety of stages, including Zydeco bands and traditional Dixieland bands. But perhaps the biggest draw, pun definitely intended, is the body art competition, when airbrush artists use their talents with flesh as the canvas.
Shreveport – Bossier City, LA
It’s a Mardi Gras that's big enough for three states- the so-called Ark-La-Tex, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. The festivities center in Shreveport throughout the season but draw revelers from across all three states; along with dozens of black-tie balls and less formal parties there are pre-parade float-loading parties which give non-float riders a behind-the-scenes peek into the world of floats. A pet parade honors festive dogs and cats, and the whole celebration ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday on top of the lighted bridge which connects Shreveport and Bossier City, when revelers make their way to the top of the bridge and toast the beginning of Lent.
Biloxi MS
2008 marked the 100th year of Mardi Gras in Biloxi, and while in years past there were three parades to celebrate Fat Tuesday, trying to stage parades in the aftermath of Katrina has been a challenge for the city. But again, Biloxi has three Mardi Gras parades this year. A children’s parade allows little revelers to get in on the fun by biking, skateboarding or rollerblading along the parade route -- or being pushed in a stroller by mom or dad.
Pensacola, FL
Pensacola may have put the fat in Tuesday. In this Panhandle city, the focus of Mardi Gras seems to be on food: From a champagne breakfast to a Cajun boil, a red beans and rice party to a chili cook-off, even a MoonPie party to celebrate Mardi Gras. Throw in a half-dozen parades, a 15-K run over Pensacola Bay Bridge ending at Pensacola Beach, and activities for kids and pets, and Mardi Gras in Pensacola is a sure bet for families. But for those looking for a bit of mystery and intrigue, a select few of the parade goers will be handed voodoo dolls from the Krewe of Voodoo.
Baton Rouge, LA
Just an hour north of New Orleans, the capital city of Louisiana shows you don't have to be in the Big Easy to laissez les Bontemps roulez. Krewes in Baton Rouge range from the all-female parading society of the Krewe of Artemis, which holds a night-time parade and after party, to the Krewe of Spanishtown, which celebrates the diverse and funky Spanishtown neighborhood -- the city’s oldest, founded in 1805. The Spanishtown parade features plenty of pink and lots of flamingos, chosen because most people think the bright birds are tacky; it’s the Krewe’s feeling that not only is beauty in the eye of the beholder, but that poor taste is better than no taste at all.
