Kick Off Celebration / 12th Night
12th Night in Christianity refers to the 12th Night of Christmas, which is also the Epiphany. This is the last night of Christmas and transitions from celebrating Christmas to the Mardi Gras Season which ends on Fat Tuesday. The Epiphany is always on January 6th, which is always 12 days after Christmas. This is the traditional day to eat King Cake.
Pensacola has its own Mardi Gras Kick Off. Floats and their Krewes will come along with any revelers that want to join in the fun. All Floats and their Krewes will be blessed by the Father, and their Mardi Gras season on feasting and imbirery will be kicked off with blessings and hope for a fun Mardi Gras season.
The Kick Off Celebration takes place in Downtown Pensacola. Utilizing historic Palafox Street, Romana, Intendencia, Zarragossa and Jefferson for floats to park and for spectators to have a chance to get up close and personal with the floats and the Krewes.
The Town Crier will announce and individual proclamation for each participating Krewe. The King’s and Queen’s of the Mardi Gras Krewes will reign over a 2nd Line Procession which will officially start the Pensacola Mardi Gras Kick Off Celebration on the 12th Night. The 2nd line band will escort a walking procession which is scheduled to include: Father Nicholas Schummn, to bestow blessing, along with the Mayor and amongst the Krewes and their floats. The processional and blessing will end at the official King Cake table. The reigning King and Queen Priscus will cut the Official King Cake marking the official opening of the Mardi Gras Season.
Yes. At the end of the 2nd Line Procession there will be an official cutting of the cake which will signify the official beginning of Pensacola’s Mardi Gras Season.
Scheduled Times are: ~ 5:00pm Palafox will be clear of vehicle traffic ~ 5:30 pm Floats and all media will be lined up and parked on Palafox Street. ~ 7:00 pm Merriment starts ~ 8:00pm Ceremony with Father Gray and the Mayor’s will start ~ 8:20pm 2nd Line Procession and Blessing of the Fleet will start ~ 9:30 Incoming Mayor to perform official toast ~ 9:35 Presiding Mayor to slice into the season’s first King Cake ~ 9:40 Grab your umbrellas and/or hanky and get ready to 2nd line the Pensacola Mardi Gras season in.
Rain or Shine the event will take place.
Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade
This is an important question and Pensacola Mardi Gras is here to give you the official answer. The Krewes have been instructed to not throw ANY item off their float unit there float hit the traffic light at Garden and Spring Streets.
This is a major concern for safety without barricades. Our “staging” / “line up” begins on the South side of Garden and Spring and because Krewes have to be funneled in onto Garden and Spring we need a good amount of space to make that happen safely.
Rain or Shine the parade will roll, unless the police and head orgainzer state otherwise. The Grand Parade is based off of lent and we can’t reschedule Lent!
NO. Spectators are strongly encouraged to NOT bring their pet to watch the parade. Once the parade gets started the noises can become very loud and overwhelming. We also have horses IN the parade and we do not know how any animal will react to seeing them. We want everyone to enjoy their Mardi Gras Parade and not worry if an animal has become overwhelmed, overheated, etc.
The parade route for Friday and Saturday can be found here
Yes. We do have a reserved handicap parking for a limited amout of vehicles. That parking lot can be found at the southwest corner of Gregory and Palafox Street. You can find the map here
Parking and the Viewing area are first come, first served. There are no bleachers in the viewing area. We will have handicapped portalets at the location.
There are some business along the parade route that will allow community groups like the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and Schools to charge a fee for people to park in their lot. Click Here for the complete DIB parking map.
Downtown Road Closure Information for both the Krewe of Lafitte and Pensacola Mardi Gras Grand Parade.
Krewe of Lafitte Illuminated Parade – Friday Night
3:00 pm – No Parking signs will be put in place along the line up area and the parade route.
5:30 pm – Floats start lining up on Spring Street (from South Garden to Main Street)
6:00 pm – Pensacola Police Department and the City of Pensacola will start locking off the parade route with cars and barricades.
7:30 pm – The Parade will begin at Garden Street and will end at Main Street
10:00 pm – The streets will reopen.
Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade Day – Saturday
9:00 am – No Parking signs will be put in place along the line up area and the parade route.
10:00 am – Floats start lining up on Spring Street (from South Garden to Main Street)
12:00 pm – Pensacola Police Department and the City of Pensacola will start locking off the parade route with cars and barricades. (Depending on the safety of the spectators walking around, for safety reasons, Pensacola Police Department may elect to close the streets earlier.)
1:30 pm – Krewe Royalty 2nd Line begins.
2:00 pm – The Parade will begin at Garden Street and will end at Main Street
8:00 pm – The streets will reopen. Some areas may not open until the next moring.
We do have a Kids Viewing area. The Kids Viewing zone will be located in the median on Palafox between Chase and Gregory Streets.
Its a No alcohol / tobacco zone. It is not policed, however, we do try to keep the kid friend vendors in this area.
Yes! We have a variety of vendors. From facepainters, funnel cakers, and popcorn makers. Brisket, all american, asian flair to new and surprising vendors that make ya say..Oh my looka there! Located on the center median side of Palfox between Wright and Garden Streets. On the East side of Garden and Palafox and on the East Side of Palafox and Government Streets.
If you want to participate as a vendor, just fill out this quick form and we will get back with you.