HISTORY
OF MARDI GRAS IN GALVESTON
Mardi Gras (French
for "Fat Tuesday") is the day before
Ash Wednesday, and is also called "Shrove
Tuesday" or "Pancake Day". It is
the final day of Carnival. It is a celebration
that is held just before the beginning of the
Christian liturgical season of Lent.
The date can vary
from February 3 to March 9 in non-leap years or
February 4 to March 9 in leap years. Like Lent,
the date is dependent on that of Easter.
Mardi Gras falls on the following
dates in the following years:
2009 — February 24
2010 — February 16
2011 — March 8
2012 — February 21
2013 — February 12
2014 — March 4
Perhaps the cities
most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations
include New Orleans, Mobile, Rio de Janeiro, São
Paulo, Venice, Salvador da Bahia, and Mazatlán.
Many other places have important Mardi Gras celebrations
as well. The carnival is an important celebration
in most of Europe, and in many parts of Latin
America and the Caribbean. Panama's carnivals
are gaining notoriety each year, with tourists
from the U.S., Latin American and European countries
increasing year after year.
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New Orleans Mardi
Gras is particularly well-known, often called
"the greatest free show on earth". The
celebrations draw hundreds of thousands of tourists
to the city in addition to the celebrating locals
for the parties and parades. Most tourists can
be found within the French Quarter, especially
Bourbon Street.
Mardi Gras came to New
Orleans with the French settlers at the start
of the 18th century. New Orleans developed new
traditions, including Carnival organizations called
Krewes such as the Krewe du Vieux, the Zulu Social
Aid & Pleasure Club, and the famous Rex parade,
in addition to Mardi Gras Indians and king cake
parties.
Galveston's first
recorded Mardi Gras celebration, in 1867, included
a masked ball at Turner Hall (Sealy at 21st St.)
and a theatrical performance from Shakespeare's
"King Henry IV" featuring Alvan Reed
(a justice of the peace weighing in at 350 pounds!)
as Falstaff.
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The first year
that 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 (known only by the
initials "K.O.M.") 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.
Not to be outdone,
the Knights of Myth also sponsored a spectacular
parade, which, according to a newspaper account,
"suddenly sprang out of the bowels of the
earth with torch lights, cars and horses."
This parade 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 attracting
attention throughout the state. So grand were
plans for the 1872 celebration that newspaper
reports declared that this Mardi Gras "promised
to eclipse anything ever attempted on Texas soil."
The newly constructed Tremont Opera House, decorated
with hundreds of caged canaries "trilling
their gladsome voices," provided a luxurious
venue for the staging of tableaux (based on "The
Pleasures of the Imagination") and the evening
ball.
By 1873, visitors
from around the state were attending the festivities.
Among them were Governor E.J. Davis and a party
of state officials and legislators who rode in
the Mardi Gras parade that year. Dubbed "The
Eras of Chivalry," the parade boasted brilliantly
decorated floats fashioned after campaigns and
characters from the 6th through the 15th centuries.
By 1880, the street
parades proved too extravagant and expensive to
continue. However, Mardi Gras masked balls continued
to flourish through the end of the century. In
1910, the carnival parades were revived by an
organization called the "Kotton Karnival
Kids," a group charged with staging parades
for both Mardi Gras and the Galveston Cotton Carnival.
This group gave its first dance on February 24,
1914, an historic date marked by Galveston's first
snowfall in 19 years.
The 1917 masked
ball took on added glamour with the first official
appearance of King Frivolous and his court, who
arrived by "royal yacht," paraded through
the streets, and was presented by the mayor with
the keys to the city. Characters in that year's
parade were taken from the "comic sheets."
In 1918, due to
the outbreak of World War I, the coronation was
canceled and the celebration of Mardi Gras confined
to a single day, but the festivities and the coronation
of King Frivolous resumed the following year.
Until 1928, the
Kotton Karnival Kids-who eventually changed their
name to Mystic Merry Makers-continued to sponsor
Mardi Gras parades and balls. Themes in those
years included "Dante's Inferno," "Song
and Story," "The Passing Show,"
and "Events of the Year." The expense
of producing the parades and celebrations forced
the group to discontinue their sponsorship in
1929, but the Galveston Booster Club saved the
day on short notice and continued to sponsor Mardi
Gras events until merging with the Galveston Chamber
of Commerce in 1937-at which point Mardi Gras
came under the Chamber's authority.
Brilliant and lavish
carnivals were celebrated through February 1941,
when shortages of men, material and a full commitment
to the defeat of the Axis powers by the citizenry
of Galveston caused the demise of Mardi Gras on
the Island. For nearly 40 years, the annual celebrations
were of a private nature, including those hosted
by the Maceo family, the Galveston Artillery Club,
the Treasure Ball Association and Holy Rosary
Catholic Church.
Galveston Mardi
Gras Parking:
22nd and Market St. –Open
to public for all days of Mardi Gras 2007. Overnight
OK. 585 spots available.
All spots $10/day
21st & Harborside Dr. (Pier 21 parking lots)
–Open to public for all days of Mardi Gras.
19th & Market St. (ANICO parking lots) –Open
to the public after 5:00pm Fridays. RV’s
welcome for $30 per spot taken per day. 584 spots
available.
All other spots $10/day.
24th & Postoffice –Open to the public
all days of Mardi Gras. No RV’s.
All spots $10/day.
25th & Santa Fe Place lot –Open to the
public 1st weekend of Mardi Gras. Overnight OK.
50 spots available.
All spots $10/day.
Rules of Mardi Gras:
Of course, there are a few rules to follow while
enjoying Galveston's Mardi Gras:
No Cans
No Silly String
No Glass Bottles
No Cameras, video cameras and/or any other recording
devices during the concerts
No Coolers
No Skateboards
No Roller Blades
No Bicycles
No Scooters
No Backpacks
No Weapons
No Pets
No Outdoor/Indoor Furniture
Directions to Galveston:
Take I-45 South. Galveston is about 45 miles south
of Houston. League City will be about half way
from Houston to Galveston. As you approach Galveston
you will cross from the mainland to the island
over a large bridge. After the bridge you will
be in Galveston, and I-45 turns in to Broadway
Street.
Directions to The Strand:
Broadway is the main road down Galveston and essentially
cuts the island in half. Perpendicular to this
street are numbered streets. Continue down Broadway
until 23rd Street then take a left onto 23rd (there
will be a sign on the stop light that says "The
Strand"). 5 blocks down you will be in The
National Historic Strand District. 8 blocks down
you will see "The Strand" street.
Parking is available along
the streets, and there are numerous paid parking
lots throughout the District.
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