The Original Mardi Gras: Mobile's Guide to Carnival Since 1703
Let's get this out of the way: Mardi Gras did not start in New Orleans. It started here, in Mobile, in 1703. New Orleans wasn't founded until 1718, which means we were throwing Carnival for fifteen years before our neighbors to the west had a street to parade down. We say this with love. Mostly.
This is our guide to Mobile Mardi Gras: where it came from, how we do it differently, what's coming in 2027, and how to dress for it. Bookmark it. We'll keep it updated all season.
Chase, trusting The Process.
Mobile Mardi Gras 2027: the dates
- Fat Tuesday: Tuesday, February 9, 2027
- Deep Gras: Thursday, February 4 through Fat Tuesday. The final six days, with at least one parade or ball every single day.
- Joe Cain Day (the People's Parade): Sunday, February 7, 2027
- Lundi Gras: Monday, February 8, 2027
- Parade season: Downtown parades roll for about three weeks before Fat Tuesday. The official 2027 schedule isn't out yet. We'll post it here the minute it is.
Quick answers
Is Mobile really the birthplace of Mardi Gras? In the United States, yes. French settlers at Fort Louis de la Louisiane, the original Mobile settlement, celebrated Mardi Gras in 1703. The first masked ball, the Masque de la Mobile, followed in 1704.
Where did parades and mystic societies come from? Also Mobile. The Cowbellion de Rakin Society paraded in 1830, the first organized, masked parading society in the country. In 1856, a group of businessmen in New Orleans, three of them former Mobilians, borrowed the idea and started their own. You're welcome, NOLA.
What's a mystic society? Mobile's version of a krewe: a private organization that throws a ball, rolls a parade, or both. Mobile has more than 80 of them today.
What do they throw? Beads, cups, trinkets, and MoonPies. Lots of MoonPies. If you get hit in the head by one, that's just part of the experience. It's always fun to see what the trending throw will be year to year. 2026 was fun with the "Civic Center Bricks."
A very short history of a very long party
1703: The French throw the first one. A year after Fort Louis de la Louisiane went up on the river, the soldiers and settlers celebrated Mardi Gras. Mobile was the capital of French Louisiana at the time, so technically this was the capital's party.
1704: The first ball. The Masque de la Mobile starts the tradition of masked balls. Three hundred-plus years later, we are still renting tails.
1711: The first parade. The Boeuf Gras Society rolls a giant papier-mâché bull's head through town. Floats have gotten fancier. The energy has not changed.
1830: The Cowbellions. A cotton factor named Michael Krafft and his buddies grab cowbells and rakes from a hardware store and parade through the streets on New Year's Eve. When someone asks who they are, the answer is "the Cowbellion de Rakin Society." A night of drunken nonsense becomes the template for every mystic society in America. Never let anyone tell you nothing good happens after midnight.
1866: Joe Cain saves Mardi Gras. After the Civil War, with the city occupied and celebrations shut down, Joe Cain dressed up as a made-up Chickasaw chief named Slacabamorinico and paraded through downtown anyway. That one act of defiance brought Mardi Gras back to Mobile. He's buried in the Church Street Graveyard, and every year on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday, the whole city parades in his honor. (See: Old Slac and Chief Slacabamorinico IV.)
Our co-founder Matt with Chief Slacabamorinico IV himself, Wayne Dean.
1867: The Order of Myths. Mobile's oldest continuously parading society is founded, and its emblem float still closes out Fat Tuesday: Folly chasing Death around a broken column, swatting him with golden bladders. Folly wins. Every year. Death is undefeated everywhere else, but on Mardi Gras night in Mobile, joy gets the last word. (Wear it: Folly.)
How Mobile does it differently
The balls are the main event. Parades are for everyone. Balls are where the mystic societies throw down: formal dress, tableaux, and a lot of people who will be useless at work the next day.
The bands. Nothing hits like a marching band stopping right in front of your spot. Around here, the whole thing (parade, Carnival, all of it) is known as The Boom Boom. (The Boom Boom Tee, plus sizes down to the baby, because Mobilians start early.)
Anna in the Boom Boom Crop Hoodie.
The Process. Multi-parade days require discipline. Party. Parade. Party. Repeat. Trust The Process.
NeverGreens vs. ForeverGreens. The original Mardi Gras colors were purple and gold. Green got added later, mostly once New Orleans got involved. In Mobile there is a long-running, completely unserious beef between people who reject the green and people who embrace it. Pick a side: Never Green or, if you're feeling chaotic, the Grumpy Green Devil, the personification of green crashing the party.
Tails. If you're going to a ball, you're wearing tails. If you're going to the parade, you can wear Ballin', which is the next best thing.
Where we stand (literally)
From Joseph, co-founder
Growing up, we stood with our parents in front of the Royal Street Garage, the one with the pyramid-looking bricks that cascade up into the walls. We spent every parade climbing on those bricks, waiting for the first float to show up. Our dad was a member of The Mystic Stripers Society, The Stripers, who roll on the Thursday that kicks off Deep Gras. We'd watch his parade, then get dropped off at The Pink Hotel with all the other kids while our parents went to the ball. If we were lucky, we got to stay home from school the next day.
Nowadays we stand all over. Our go-to spots are in front of Moe's BBQ, in front of The Garage, or anywhere on Royal Street. But Joe Cain Day is the best day. Period. A full day of parades and partying, and the truest expression of The Process there is. Now that my boys are getting older, I'm looking forward to starting our own tradition.
Goodbye, Civic Center. Hello, Regions Arena.
For 60 years, the Mobile Civic Center was where Mardi Gras balls happened. It also hosted Elvis, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, which is a pretty good résumé for a building that was falling apart by the end. It came down in 2025, and Regions Arena on the same site is scheduled to open in January 2027, just in time for Carnival, with ballrooms built specifically for Mardi Gras balls. We'll miss the old dome. We will not miss the bathrooms. (RIP Civic Center)
What to wear to the parade
Mobile parade weather swings between "shorts" and "why didn't I bring a coat" in a single afternoon, so layer up.
- For the history nerd: Mardi Gras 1703 Arch tee or hoodie. Receipts on your chest.
- For the Joe Cain Day crowd: Old Slac or Long Live The King
- For the cold parade nights: Boom Boom Hoodie or Boom Boom Crop Hoodie
- For the purists: Never Green
- For the jesters: Mardi Gras Jester
- For the home stretch: Deep Gras Zombie
- For the downtown bar crawl: Mardi Gras LoDa
Shop the full Mardi Gras collection online, or grab it in person at Urban Emporium in downtown Mobile. Ordering online for a specific parade? Order early. Printed-to-order gear takes about 7–10 days to reach you.
Coming up on this page
We'll add to this guide all season: a Mobile Mardi Gras glossary (MoonPies, ladders, and what "rolling" means), a totally unbiased Mobile vs. New Orleans comparison, and the full Joe Cain story. Check back, or sign up for our emails and we'll tell you when it's live.
Laissez les bons temps rouler, Mobile. We had it first.