Gulf Shores will add Saturday Mardi Gras Parade

Gulf Shores will add Saturday Mardi Gras Parade

Parade will move back to Hwy. 59; Fat Tuesday parade in limbo

Gulf Shores, thanks to the initiative of a newly formed local krewe, the Pleasure Island Revelers, will introduce a new Saturday evening Mardi Gras Parade on Jan. 23. The city also left the door open to continue with its traditional Fat Tuesday parade. City Council had previously approved moving the parade route back to the original Hwy. 59 route from 15th St./Clubhouse Dr. to the beach.
Mayor Robert Craft said he is open to the city working with any group interested in organizing the Fat Tuesday parade before fully turning it over to them in 2028.
The Saturday evening parade will be held on Jan. 23, and comes after the 2026 parade along Each Beach Blvd. drew a record low number of entries and spectators. The first Mardi Gras parade in Baldwin County is scheduled on Jan. 16 in Robertsdale.
The Revelers will be responsible for parade production in hopes that the krewe can attract more community participation. Gulf Shores will continue to provide essential logistical and public safety services, including police, fire, and public works personnel for both parades.
“We have been approached by a group that has good community ties, experience at putting on events, and we think that it is a good option to return this to a local krewe. We will support the efforts of the krewe, but they will be responsible for receiving applications, managing and organizing the parade,” city spokesman Grant Brown said.
The Gulf Shores Mardi Gras parade was moved to the East Beach route after 12 members of the Gulf Shores marching band were injured when a 73-year-old Fairhope man who said he hit his gas pedal by mistake drove his 2008 Ford Expedition into the band at the start of the 2017 parade when 1. Three of the band members, aged 12 to 17, were injured critically, but all of the children survived.
“We are getting really hung up on the tradition being the time and the date, not necessarily the parade itself,” said Revelers Presient Blake Rowell. “We approached the city because we saw a need for a better parade, a longer parade. We had a lot of feedback from citizens that the parade was dwindling a little bit, and we wanted to jump in and help it. This is a way to serve our community and improve something that is really near and dear to a lot of us in this krewe.’’
“Right now, I think we’re kind of pinched between the 10 a.m. start in Gulf Shores and the 2 p.m. start in Orange Beach and a lot of people have to make a choice,” Rowell added. “We’re trying to eliminate that choice, where you can go and enjoy a full on Gulf Shores parade. You can spend the day there. You’re not rushed out to go get in traffic and get to Orange Beach.”
“We don’t want to lose Tuesday morning parade,” Mayor Robert Craft said. “If there’s another organization that wants to have a parade similar to what these gentlemen have proposed, we welcome them. We think it’d be great if we’re not taking away the Tuesday morning parade. And, I apologize for us not making that clearer from the beginning. But we would need another group to do what the Revelers are planning to do instead of the city trying to put together and organize this program,” Craft said.
“The door is wide open for negotiation with the city of how we do the Tuesday morning deal. We’re wide open for that.”