Texas’ Largest Mardi Gras Celebration Kicks Off Friday in Galveston

Platinum Rock Group Tonic to Headline Performances for First Weekend Festivities

GALVESTON ISLAND, TEXAS (January 30, 2013) – Texas’ largest Mardi Gras celebration will kick off this Friday in Galveston, expected to attract more than 300,000 attendees for a two-week carnival of lavish parades and parties amid the island’s Victorian architecture and views of the Gulf Coast.

The 2013 event – taking place Feb. 1-12 – is scheduled to be the biggest Mardi Gras! Galveston celebration yet with 38 concerts, 24 parades, 20 balcony parties and five elegant masked balls.

This weekend’s events will feature several concerts and parades, including Friday’s annual “Funky Uptown Umbrella Brigade” – in which Mardi Gras! Galveston organizers earned a world record for the largest choreographed umbrella dance last year.  Anyone who brings a decorated umbrella to participate in the brigade will receive free admission to the downtown Mardi Gras entertainment district. To register, click here.

On Saturday, the platinum rock group Tonic will headline Mardi Gras performances. Tonic – whose musical power has earned the group six top-rated singles and two Grammy nominations – will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Saengerfest Park, located at the corner of Strand and 23rd streets. Concerts are free to attend with admission to the Mardi Gras entertainment district.

Sunday, February 3 is Family Gras at Mardi Gras! Galveston featuring the annual Sunshine Kids Parade, Shriners Hospitals for Children Parade, a 1K Fun Run/Walk and live entertainment. Admission to the entertainment district on this day is free. Donations will be accepted at the gate for the Sunshine Kids and Shriners Hospitals for Children.

For a full list of parades and activities, visit www.mardigrasgalveston.com.

About Mardi Gras! Galveston 
Mardi Gras, the traditional festival of feasting and merrymaking that precedes the season of Lent, was first publicly observed on Galveston Island in 1867. Following a sabbatical imposed in 1941 by war and challenging times, Mardi Gras! Galveston was revived in 1985 by Galveston-born preservationist and developer George P. Mitchell. The largest celebration of its kind in Texas and the third largest in the nation, Mardi Gras! Galveston brings the island’s streets to life with parade viewers shouting for beads, lively tunes played by the colorful marching bands, and the infectious merriment that dominates the island for two full weeks. For more information on Mardi Gras! Galveston visit http://www.mardigrasgalveston.com.

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