Mardi Gras in Galveston

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You don’t have to go to New Orleans to observe the traditional bacchanalia. Texans host the second largest celebration in the country, and this year they’re expecting more participants than ever before.

  The party has already begun in Galveston, where the preparations begin after King’s Day on Jan. 6 and culminate in a colorful spectacle that’s attracted as many as a third of a million people to the historic island city.

  “Salute to the Gulf Coast” is this year’s theme, celebrating the resilience and rebirth of the Gulf Coast communities after last year’s devastating hurricane season. Galveston suffered little damage, but the city wants to show its support for the rest of the region, said Cathy Veniegas, special events coordinator for the city.

This year the spirit of New Orleans will be more alive than ever with the presence for the first time of a classic “krewe” from the Big Easy that will participate in two of the celebration’s biggest parades.

  The krewes are groups that plan the elaborate parades, floats and parties at the heart of the annual event, each one with its own eccentric style. Some krewes have more than 1,000 members, some of them stretching back for decades. Each year at a series of gala costume balls, every krewe elects its own Mardi Gras king and queen, who will represent them in the spectacular parades that take place all weekend long during the closing weekend of the event, February 24-25.

Something old and something new

  This year, 139 years since the first Galveston Mardi Gras in 1867, the organizers hope to leave behind the disappointing turnout of the past couple of years, when rain and cold weather discouraged many potential partygoers. Still, despite the chilly drizzle, official estimates last year put the crowd count at around 300,000 over the two main weekends of the event.

One strategy evolved last spring after the close of Mardi Gras, when the organizers decided to eliminate the entry fee for the first weekend, Feb. 17-18. The second Sunday will be free, as well.

March of many colors

  One of the big attractions of Mardi Gras is the parades, planned for months in advance by the nearly 20 krewes who participate in the event. The Krewe Babalu plans its activities all year long and has its own web page to keep its members informed. Others have a specific mission, like the Krewe de Esprit Rosaire, the only krewe of black Catholics, and the Humane Society’s Krewe of Barkus and Meoux, which sponsors an animal parade every year.

  This parade, which begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, is one of the biggest attractions for families with children, along with the Children’s parade at 2 p.m. Both events are free.

  The first parade to begin the celebration will be the Mystic Krewe of Aquarius, which will begin at 14th and Seawall at noon on the first Saturday, Feb. 18. Like most of the parades, it will last an hour. The theme will be American cinema throughout history.

  The Krewe Gambrino will follow with its parade, Carnevale Italiano, followed by a spectacular fireworks display.