Mardi Gras means New Orleans, right? Not necessarily, not to the good folks of Mobile who lay claim to throwing the oldest annual pre-Lent-let’s-let-loose celebration in America. The Mobile affair began in 1703, a decade-and-a-half before New Orleanians took it to heart.
Mobile bills its celebration as a family affair. It’s this reporter’s family’s experience that Mobile’s madness is a bit more restrained, a tad gentler perhaps, than the Big Easy’s earthy bash.
For weeks the streets of downtown are suffused with music, filled with floats, and graced by local royalty. From their carriages they hurl doubloons (sadly, plastic) candy and even Moon Pies. You want to be careful how heavy-handedly you reach out to catch them. Squish.
The Gulf Coast carnival is still going on, building to a Feb. 21 Fat Tuesday crescendo that culminates with the 6:30 p.m. Order of Myths Parade. You still have time, even at this late date, to get in on the fun. A number of hotels are promoting Mardi Gras specials, including: The Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza, the Mobile Marriott out near the airport, and the in-the-heart-of-it all Berney-Fly Bed and Breakfast on Government Street.
To get a feel for the history of this nation’s first Mardi Gras take time to see the Mobile Carnival Museum, also on Government Street. Crowns, scepters, floats, and bejeweled robes – they’re all there for the gawking.
Seek out an island of comparative sanity and sip what locals consider the town’s finest martini at the Royal Scam. The seafood is superb, the libations lustrous. It’s across the street from the Renaissance Riverview Plaza.
Understand that Mobile isn’t exactly a ghost time this time of year. You’ll have plenty of company. But if you’re in search of a celebration that’s a legitimate alternative to what’s going on over in New Orleans, this is it.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Images: gnuckx, The Royal Scam)
