If you can’t make it to New Orleans for Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras Galveston is your next best choice. In fact, if you celebrate at the numerous parties in the historic district, the architecture alone will have you thinking you’re in New Orleans. Each year over the course of two weeks, Galveston throws huge parties that attract over 250,000 visitors to the island, complete with parades, balcony parties and bead throwing. There’s also tons of food, drinks, and crafty vendors to help you get decked out for the event. Many visitors dress up in fun costumes…I saw a group dressed as characters from The Wizard of Oz! Don’t forget to bring a decorated umbrella. You can use it to protect you from what’s being thrown off the balconies, or you can flip it inside out and use it as a bead catching device!

A little history:

Galveston’s first recorded Mardi Gras celebration, in 1867, included a masked ball at Turner Hall and a theatrical performance from Shakespeare’s “King Henry IV”. The first year Mardi Gras was celebrated on a grand scale in Galveston was 1871 with the emergence of two rival Mardi Gras societies, or “Krewes” called the Knights of Momus and the Knights of Myth, both of which devised night parades, masked balls, exquisite costumes and elaborate invitations. The Knights of Momus, led by some prominent Galvestonians, decorated horse-drawn wagons for a torch lit night parade. Boasting such themes as “The Crusades,” “Peter the Great,” and “Ancient France,” the procession through downtown Galveston culminated at Turner Hall with a presentation of tableaux and a grand gala. The Knights of Myth also sponsored a spectacular parade, which featured “Pocahontas,” “Scalawag’s Enemies,” and “Bismark’s Grand Band,” and ended at Casino Hall with similar themes and a gala.

In the years that followed, the parades and balls grew more elaborate, glittering with pomp and splendor…and we invite you to take a look at our adventures.