Mobile, Alabama, is one of the oldest cities in the United States of America. Since its founding in the early years of the 18th century, Mobile has experienced multiple boom times. During these periods of cultural and economic efflorescence, residents and visitors alike realized the uniqueness of place, being, and spirit that have come to typify the Port City. Chroniclers and observers articulated the distinctiveness of Mobile through the employ of evocative monikers. In the 1850s, the Port City was referred to as the “Cotton City” and the “Paris of the South.” By the turn of the 19th century, Mobile was likened to a “Southern Buenos Aires.” A little over sixty years later, in 1968, it was described as “Alabama’s City in Motion.”

Self-styled, and increasingly known as the “Mother of Mystics,” Mobile, Alabama, is the birthplace of modern American Carnival. More than any other facet of Port City life, it is Carnival that makes Mobile so incredibly special!

Carnival, with Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) as its height, is Mobile’s greatest living tradition. Past, present, and future are all intertwined in the ethos, ideals, and practicalities behind what is an art form, an economic engine, a good time, and a family affair.