25 Items Tagged

Mardi Gras

Mobile, Alabama

Joe Cain’s Grave

Pay your respects to the man who revived the Mardi Gras celebration in Mobile, Alabama.

No thanks.

AO Mailbag: Which Places Just Aren’t Worth Visiting?

We look for wonder everywhere we go. But today, let’s talk about the trips that aren’t worth it.

The Podcast Team June 24, 2025

Victorian dress-up at Dickens on The Strand.

10 Fascinating Festivals in Galveston, Texas

Good times go far beyond beach season on this unusual island

Sponsored By Visit Galveston

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile Carnival Museum

In 1703, French settlers in what is now Mobile celebrated the first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.

Illustration of a Venice-themed Mardi Gras float with Shakespeare's Othello

New Orleans, Louisiana

Starting Point of the First Mardi Gras Parade

In 1857, the Mardi Gras parade tradition began at this intersection.

Bolo-rei often comes with a coin—signifying good fortune—and a bean—signifying who buys the next cake—inside.

7 Weird and Wonderful King Cakes From Around the World

From slips of Bulgarian fortunes to copulating French figurines, international king cakes hide many surprises.

Matt Haines February 20, 2023

Fasnachts

Pennsylvanians come out in droves for this pre-Lent delicacy.

The first house float in the Krewe of Red Beans' Hire a Mardi Artist program is "The Night Tripper."

With No Parade This Year, New Orleans Is Festooned With Mardi Gras 'House Floats'

They’re uplifting spirits and local artists alike.

Victoria Stapley-Brown January 27, 2021

New Orleans, Louisiana

Antoine’s Restaurant

The oldest family-run restaurant in the United States is a living museum of New Orleans dining history.

Jennie Wilde designed the “I Came, I Saw, I Conquered" float for the the 1911 "Familiar Quotations"-themed Mardi Gras parade.

The Forgotten Female Artist Whose Mardi Gras Fantasias Warped Reality

If only Jennie Wilde could have transformed society too.

Laura Doan October 11, 2019

While most frozen Charlottes were fairly small, some were more than a foot long.

The Haunting History of 'Frozen Charlotte' Dolls

They were baked into cakes and dropped into baths.

Anne Ewbank March 4, 2019

Pączki

These Polish pre-Lent doughnuts have taken on a life (and an eating contest) of their own in the United States.

Graffe

During Carnival, Neapolitans fill up on these fluffy potato doughnuts.

Malasadas

These Portuguese doughnuts have a fervent fanbase in Hawaii.

Struffoli

These Neapolitan Christmas sweets double as decorations.

Courir de Mardi Gras

A Cajun tradition that combines costumes, gumbo, and chasing chickens.

Young women, with blinis, and Lady Maslenitsa burning in the background.

Maslenitsa

Russian Mardi Gras features blinis, fistfights, and burning effigies.

Sanguinaccio Dolce

Italians make a bloody delicious chocolate pudding.