Mardi Gras in Galveston

Between the first ball in 1867 and the revival of 1985, Galveston's Mardi Gras ran in fits and starts. By 1871 two rival krewes, the Knights of Momus and the Knights of Myth, each staged parades open to the public and masked balls by invitation only. High costs scaled the celebrations back from the 1880s into the early 1900s, and in 1910 the Kotton Karnival Kids revived the older pageantry. The festival stopped during World War II and resumed in 1949, then lost its city sponsorship in the mid-1950s because it had grown too expensive.

What the plaque says

Mardi Gras in Galveston Mardi Gras was born out of a fifteenth-century European masquerade ball tradition, where guests would wear extravagant costumes and masks to conceal their identities. The first Mardi Gras celebration in Galveston occurred in 1867 at Turner Hall, when a group called "the Jolly Young Bachelors" invited 100 guests for "dramatic entertainment and a bal masque." The initial Mardi Gras celebration was deemed a success; however, the now annual event experienced periodic hiatuses throughout its history. Private celebrations and impromptu parades helped fill in the gaps between publicly promoted and organized events. Many traditions in the celebration have developed over the years, such as multiple parades and processions. Several festive galas developed over time to include an elaborate "treasure ball" and a royal party featuring the crowning of that year's king frivolous. After a lengthy hiatus, in 1985 businessman and Galveston native George P. Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia Woods Mitchell, spearheaded efforts to revive Mardi Gras as a public event with local traditions. Their efforts included the fantasy arches project, which featured eight decorative arches commemorating the re-establishment of Mardi Gras in Galveston as an annual event. Today, Mardi Gras provides vital support for the local economy by attracting 300,000 visitors annually and sustaining downtown businesses. Daytime events have been added to foster a more family-friendly environment. The event has now expanded to a city-wide celebration lasting over two weeks. Spanning several generations, Mardi Gras in Galveston survived over 150 years of ever-changing culture and technology. This historic event continues to celebrate the bal masque linking Galveston to continental European culture. (2017)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• The Strand — steps away
  Five blocks of iron-front brick buildings near the harbor that were once called the Wall Street of the Southwest, emptied after 1900 and brought back by preservationists from the 1960s.
• Texas Seaport Museum and the Elissa — 0.2 mi
  An iron barque launched in Aberdeen in 1877 that called at Galveston twice, ended up smuggling in the Adriatic, and was bought back from a Greek scrapyard to sail again from Pier 22.
• 1859 Ashton Villa — 0.4 mi
  A brick Italianate house on Broadway, built with enslaved labor in 1859, whose lawn has held Galveston's Juneteenth commemoration of General Orders, No. 3 every year since 1979.
• Moody Mansion — 0.5 mi
  A four-story, 28,000-square-foot house on Broadway, finished in 1895, that W. L. Moody Jr. bought just after the 1900 storm and his family kept until Hurricane Alicia in 1983.

More markers nearby

• Leon & H. Blum Co. Building — steps away
• William Lewis Moody, Jr. — steps away
• Juneteenth — steps away
• The Stewart Building — steps away