By Aric Jenkins
The Big Easy is not the only U.S. city hosting Fat Tuesday celebrations.
Mardi Gras 2018 is around the corner. While this year’s holiday has technically been ongoing since Jan 6., it’s Fat Tuesday — the last day to feast before Lent — that is mainly associated with the festivities.
This year, Fat Tuesday is Feb. 13, and you're probably wondering where you can celebrate in the Mardi Gras colors: purple, green and gold. While the city of New Orleans – particularly the French Quarter – has been the Mardi Gras capital for centuries, the Big Easy is not the only city in America that puts on parades and events for the revelrous holiday.
It’s widely believed that Mardi Gras first began in Mobile, Alabama just after the turn of the 18th century. With that in mind, there a number of cities across the country where the holiday, also referred to as Carnival, has spread. Here are some of the best Mardi Gras celebrations around the U.S., other than New Orleans.
Biloxi, Mississippi
Just about an hour and a half driving towards the east of the Gulf Coast, you’ll find one of the more lively Mardi Gras celebrations in the country.
Fat Tuesday festivities can be found all along Interstate-10, but Biloxi is the center, as it's home to the Gulf Coast Carnival Association and King d’Iberville and Queen Ixolib, local residents selected every year to reign over Biloxi’s parades as royalty. The city even has a Mardi Gras Museum located inside an historic hotel that displays traditional costumes, memorabilia and photos of the holiday’s 100-year history in the region.
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