A crowd of people standing around a float.

Mardi Gras! Galveston: Laissez les bons temps rouler


By Johnny Trlica

Beads will be lobbed, and beads will be caught! Actually, an estimated three million beads will be tossed from floats and riders participating in the more than twenty parades that are the core of Mardi Gras! Galveston. The island’s family friendly extravaganza will be from February 10 through 21, 2023. 

That’s only part of this year’s events. Besides the elaborate parades, there are headliner performances, family experiences, feasting, and other festivities that come with Mardi Gras island style. Then there are the masks, alcohol, and costumes that come with Mardi Gras.  

Along the Strand, balcony parties will view entries by the Mystic Krewe of Aquarius, Krewe Gambrinus, and Knights of Momus. The 12th Annual Zaniest Golf Cart Parade, Fiesta Gras Parade #1 and #2, Krewe of Barkus and Meoux Parade, Knights of Momus Grand Night Parade (the one televised on ABC-13 every year), and crowd favorite, the Funky Uptown Umbrella Brigade, are just a few of the parades that will be rolling down the Seawall and Galveston’s trolley track adorned streets.  

In the historical downtown entertainment district, revelers will dance and sway to the sounds of 3 Doors Down, Siggno and Matt Stell as they perform. 

The island’s hospitality business eagerly awaits Mardi Gras each year and depends on the dollars generated by it. “Mardi Gras is one of the most important holidays for our restaurants and bars. The influx of visitors provides much needed revenue during the slowest month of the year for this tourist dependent city,†says Tom Vallerie, administrator of Galveston Eats, a Facebook group with over 32,000 members. 

Hotel rooms on the island may be scarce but there are numerous Airbnb’s offering accomodations, so plan accordingly. 

Galveston takes Mardi Gras seriously. Sometimes it seems more homes and businesses decorate for the pre-Lenten event than for Halloween and Christmas.  

Mardi Gras was first publicly observed on Galveston Island in 1867. Following a sabbatical imposed in 1941 by World War II and challenging times, Mardi Gras! Galveston was revived in 1985 by Galveston-born preservationist and developer George P. Mitchell. He was the developer of The Woodlands.  

The event has grown year to year and 2023 promises to be the biggest yet, so let the good times roll. 

For more information visit MardiGrasGalveston.com.

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