Mardi Gras in Mobile

Mardi Gras Season has arrived. The barricades are out. The funnel cake and chicken on a stick vendors are here. Beads are hanging from trees. King Cakes line the shelves. Balls and parades abound. I love Mardi Gras, particularly the Mobile version. Hey, we did it first and do it best.

For me Mardi Gras means community. Neighborhoods and businesses decorate with flags, garland, trees and lights. The parades bring friends together for viewing and debating about which parade is best. Balls are glamorous nights from a past era.

Everywhere I look I see Mobile coming together to celebrate.

I stand on the corner eagerly anticipating the bands, the floats, and the performers, observing folks bumping into old friends and making new ones. I watch children and adults catching Moon Pies, beads and stuffed animals then passing around to children who didn’t catch anything.  I see the teen kid holding a front row spot for his grandmother. The street cleaners and neighborhood associations follow the parades cleaning up so if you blink you wouldn’t realize a parade had just passed you by. It’s a magical couple of hours where everyone in the city is one. Then we repeat again for the next parade.

The balls are wonderful events to celebrate organizations and the community. From philanthropic to social to everything in between there is a society or krewe out there. A night to get dolled up and forget about the everyday drudgery with dancing and eating to the wee hours. Everyone needs a night (or two) of glamor and sparkle.

This year I am lucky enough to have a front row seat. Loper Law LLC is on the parade route right on Government Street.  Hope to see you out celebrating Mobile and Mardi Gras. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

This blog was written by Debbie Amsbaugh.