5 Mardi Gras Celebrations Beyond The Big Easy

New Orleans is Mardi Gras central, no doubt about it. But if you won’t be able to be in the Crescent City during Carnival season, you can still get in on the fun of parades, krewes (organizations that put on parades and balls), bead throwing and king cakes at Mardi Gras celebrations around the country. We uncover five places with elaborate, multiday Mardi Gras celebrations that channel the Big Easy in a big way.

Go big in the Lone Star State (Galveston, Texas)

Known as the third largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country, Mardi Gras! Galveston really takes over the Texas beach town in February. Expect more than a dozen krewes, at least two dozen parades and crowds reaching 250,000 revelers. Most of the evening activity centers around the Strand District and throughout the 15 or so square blocks of the Uptown Entertainment District. More than three million beads are thrown, live music fills the air and balcony parties over the parade routes are the hottest ticket in town.

Get jazzy in the Gateway to the West (St. Louis, Missouri)

Situated in the lively neighborhood of Soulard, this Midwestern Mardi Gras is second only to New Orleans in size and scope. With most of the action in and around the neighborhood’s reclaimed warehouses and breweries that now house clubs, shops and restaurants, the annual Soulard Mardi Gras Celebration showcases events for all ages. The party in St. Louis runs the entire Carnival season, from Twelfth Night in early January through Fat Tuesday in February. Mardi Gras events in St. Louis include dozens of parade krewes, multiple parade events, a softball competition with more than 90 teams, a wiener dog derby, a 5K run (with pit stops for free beer and hurricanes—a traditional New Orleans cocktail—for the grownups along the way) and a lot more—all just a few minutes south of the famous Gateway Arch.

Celebrate with a city that knew Mardi Gras before New Orleans (Mobile, Alabama)

Mobile has hosted Mardi Gras since 1703—predating New Orleans’ festivities by several years—with colorful action all over downtown in what is known as America’s Family Mardi Gras. With a sweet, small-town feel to most festivities, Mobile welcomes marching bands, festooned floats and crowds in the tens of thousands to more than 40 parades between mid-January and Mardi Gras day. The city also comes alive with Mardi Gras balls, but don’t expect to waltz right in—though some sell tickets, many require an invitation from a member of the group hosting the ball.

Get two celebrations in one (Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama)

These two rollicking beach towns get their Mardi Gras juju going, parades, beads and all. There are more than 20 day and evening family-friendly parades that draw crowds upwards of 450,000 for the festivities. Highlights include events at Lucy Buffett’s beach bar and restaurant, LuLu’s. In particular, Buffett throws a high-spirited Mardi Gras ball. Another must-see is the Mystics of Pleasure Mardi Gras Parade, where—unlike many other parading groups—the krewe members ride Harley-Davidsons instead of horses.

Spice up your celebration (Lafourche Parish, Louisiana)

Just 35 miles south of New Orleans, you’ll find a Mardi Gras celebration with a Cajun flare. Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou Carnival kicks off in late January, ending with Fat Tuesday in February. Discover Cajun hospitality, culture, music and food in Lafourche Parish, where 17 family-friendly parades wind through the parish’s cities and towns like Thibodaux and Golden Meadow while the smell of barbeques and crawfish boils fill the air.

Ready to travel? Find hotels in Galveston, St. Louis, Mobile, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Lafourche Parish.