Mardi Gras Isn’t Just in New Orleans -
By DAMON WINTER and MEGHAN PETERSENMARCH 1, 2017
MOBILE, Ala. — When people think of Mardi Gras, they think of New Orleans.
The Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, formerly called the Colored Carnival Association,
held its first parade in 1940, more than two decades before the end of segregation.
“It is a reward for longevity.”
Only two mystic societies, the Mobile Carnival Association and the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, have public coronations.
The king of the Order of Doves, Ross Huffstutler, received help from Maxine Day James as he
and the queen — his wife, Hannah Huffstutler — waited to pay their respects to the royal couple of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association at their coronation ceremony.
From the back of a pickup truck along the Joe Cain Procession route, a family
waits to see the royal motorcade of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association.
Vanessa Shoots, a lawyer and historian who attended this year’s Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association ball,
recalled struggling to find a good viewing spot while attending a parade a while back with her daughter.
The Mobile Mardi Gras Parading Association says the Mobile area has 72 participating organizations, called mystic societies, celebrating this year.