Pensacola marks the passing of time with a year-long playlist of festivals and community events. Summer starts on a nostalgic note with Fiesta, turns up the volume with the joyous roar of the Blue Angels, and slides into the easy rhythm of the Seafood Festival. Then, just as the holidays fade out, Mardi Gras is the first big cymbal crash of the new year.
Mardi Gras celebrations have been happening along the Gulf Coast for more than 300 years, as French and Spanish settlers carried Carnival customs across the Atlantic, each community layering its own history, music, and local character onto the same basic idea of celebrating before the Lenten season. For Pensacola, this tradition has been developing for over 150 years, blending its colonial past, coastal identity, and tight-knit community into a distinctly local take on Mardi Gras.
Though some sources suggest that Carnival-style celebrations date back to the early days of Spanish settlement, historians point to 1874 as the start of Pensacola’s organized tradition. In 1902, the Carnival Association formed, and early parades were such a success that by 1903 newspapers were already reporting trainloads of tourists arriving for the festivities. Following the Great Depression, there was a hiatus of nearly 50 years in official city-led events until celebrations roared back to life in the late 1970s with the establishment of an official Mardi Gras committee and the Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade.
In 2000, Fiesta Pensacola oversaw the Grand Parade before passing it to the newly formed Pensacola Mardi Gras, Inc. in 2002. For over two decades, Pensacola Mardi Gras, Inc. has been the organizing force behind the local celebrations. The group continually grows the season with new traditions such as the Pensacola Mardi Gras Kick Off Celebration on Twelfth Night and the Mardi Gras Mambo. Beyond the parades and parties, Pensacola krewes also channel that energy back into the community by fundraising for local nonprofits.
The magic of Pensacola Mardi Gras is that it still feels like a small local celebration, despite the numbers telling a different story. Recent festivities generated an estimated $50 million in economic impact. In 2025, visitors filled more than 10,000 hotel rooms, and roughly 100,000 people attended the Grand Parade. With over 6,000 participants marching the route, it’s hard to call our celebration a hidden gem anymore. The word is most definitely out.
Mardi Gras will look a little different this year, with Palafox Street’s construction. The two major downtown parades will follow modified routes to support downtown businesses during construction; and Pensacola Mardi Gras is planning a series of Tuesday night Second Lines. These brass band processionals will loop down Palafox, passing the businesses affected, resulting in more attention for local businesses and, of course, even more revelry.
2/12: Mardi Gras Mambo
2/13: Krewe of Lafitte Illuminated Parade
2/14: Grand Mardi Gras Parade
2/15: Krewe of Wrecks Parade
2/17: Fat Tuesday Celebration