Looking for a Mardi Gras celebration? Whether you find the baby in the king cake or not, you’re in luck.
Early season parades have already taken place on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but this weekend will begin the two-week wave of dozens of parades across the state.
The purple, green, and gold roots of Mardi Gras run deep in the Magnolia State – dating all the way back to the man who brought the celebration to America.
Pierre Lemoyne ‘Iberville sailed into the Mississippi Sound for the first time in 1699. On that same voyage, he became the first recorded person to celebrate the Carnival season in the Americas. The annual celebration is believed to have continued but only became an organized celebration when the Biloxi Carnivale and Literary Society was formed in 1908.
As one of the starting points of Mardi Gras in the U.S., most of the Mississippi celebrations are concentrated in the southern part of the state. But the tradition has proliferated to many other areas, offering just about everyone the chance to catch a string of beads from a colorful float.
Below is the current schedule for public parades this Mardi Gras season:
Thursday, February 20
- Magee – Mardi Gras Parade and Block Party | 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 22
- Biloxi – GCCA Annual 5K Run for the Beads | 8:45 a.m.
- Meridian – Meridian Mardi Gras | 10 a.m.
- Pascagoula – Annual Krewe of Little Rascals | 10:30 a.m.
- Vancleave – MKOPI Annual Mardi Gras Parade “Thunder on the Bayou” | 1:30 p.m.
- Long Beach – Annual Long Beach Mardi Gras Parade | 6:00 p.m.
- Gautier – Gautier Men’s Club Parade & Mardi Gras Tailgate Party | 7:00 p.m.
- Laurel – Mardi Gras Parade | 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 23
- Waveland – Krewe of Nereids Parade | 12:00 p.m.
- Biloxi – Krewe of Barkloxi Pet PAWrade | 12:30 p.m.
Friday, February 28
- Ocean Springs – Ocean Springs Carnival Association Night Parade | 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 1
- Diamondhead – Krewe of Diamondhead Parade | 12:00 p.m.
- Biloxi – Second Liners Mardi Gras Club Parade | 12:00 p.m.
- Pascagoula – Jackson County Carnival Parade | 12:00 p.m.
- Gulfport – Krewe of Gemini Parade | 2:00 p.m.
- Vicksburg – Downtown Vicksburg Mardi Gras Parade | 4:00 p.m.
- Biloxi – Krewe of Neptune Night Parade | 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 2
- Pass Christian – St. Paul Carnival Parade | 12:00 p.m.
- Gulfport – Second Street Social Club Parade | 1:00 p.m.
- D’Iberville – North Bay Mardi Gras Association Parade | 1:30 p.m.
Monday, March 3
- Bay St. Louis – Mystic Krewe of the Seahorse Lundi Gras Parade | 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 4 (Fat Tuesday)
- Bay St. Louis – Krewe of the Real People | 1:00 p.m.
- Biloxi – Gulf Coast Carnival Association Mardi Gras Parade | 1:00 p.m.
- Greenville – Mardi Gras Parade & Block Party | 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 8
- Bay St. Louis – Krewe of PAWseidon | 11:00 a.m.
For further event information, Mardi Gras history, and more, visit Coastal Mississippi’s dedicated page.