< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 M ardi Gras celebrations this year take place Feb. 10-21 — two weeks before Lent — with festivities on both weekends and Fat Tuesday. But in Galveston, the party started in early January as islanders swapped out Christmas decorations for purple, green and gold décor. Truth be told, Mardi Gras is on the minds of islanders year-round as krewes plan themes, decorate floats and prepare to welcome thousands of revelers to the city. Growing up in Houston, I long viewed Mardi Gras as a booze-infused affair where women lifted their shirts for beads and people descended into a kind of frenzied dec- adence before Lent, historically a time of fasting, abstention and penitence. But as an islander now, I see Mardi Gras as so much more than that. Since its revival in the 1980s, it has become an economic driver during the is- land’s off-season. On a deeper level, it has become an entrenched tradition that strengthens commu- nity ties. And after years of living in New Orleans’ shadow, Galveston’s Mardi Gras has become an au- thentic part of the culture. You can see it in yards and businesses this time of year. Scott Rice, president of the island’s oldest krew- es, Knights of Momus, sums it up beautifully. “We’ve had a lot of difficult times in Galveston, but there’s always Mardi Gras,” Rice told Coast Monthly correspondent Kathryn Eastburn. Rice recalled to Eastburn standing on the streets as a kid watching the floats roll by, then attending Mardi Gras events as a high-schooler and during his college years, observing the pageantry. “There’s something for everyone at Mardi Gras,” he said. “We can put our problems away for a few hours and socialize. Getting to know your neighbors and having a good time is what it’s all about.” I long ago let go any seedy stereo- types about Mardi Gras. And I can’t help but get caught up in the spirit. As I watch my neigh- bors string Mardi Gras lights in their yards, my resolve to wait until February to hang my Mardi Gras wreath weakens. By the time this magazine reaches you, the wreath will be hanging on my door. A lot of people make Mardi Gras happen. And, as you’ll read in this issue, there’s a renewed ener- gy and excitement about the island tradition. That in itself is something to celebrate. Whether you’re watching a parade or partying at a gala, we wish you a fun and safe Mardi Gras. LAURA ELDER Coast Monthly editor FROM THE EDITOR A MARDI GRAS STATE OF MIND12 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 SHORELINES WE ASKED ON FACEBOOK: Dancing in the streets! Elizabeth Godbehere Mardi Gras parades down the Galveston Seawall boulevard. Leona Pleasant After 25 years on the island, catching beads never gets old. Always so much fun! Ginny McDonald rao’s King Cake from Maceo’s! Dayna Rodriguez Perren Making bread pudding, jambalaya and gumbo and not worrying about calories. Kathleen Brennan For the last few years, we get together with two other couples for the first weekend of Mardi Gras. It makes for a great weekend with friends and parades! Laura Marie Diaz Tacquard I have an annual king cake-making party for my kids and their friends. This year will be the 17th year! Heidi Hansen Seigel Having a hotdog on Mardi Gras Day — at least 35 years now, every Fat Tuesday. It used to be a Lucky Dog from the French Quarter. Now that I live in Galveston, I make my own “Ignatius J-Dawg” and listen to WWOZ 90.7 FM all day long! I’m ready! Rosalind Richard Momus Den Party. Jerry Jones Looking forward to the fun Krewe of Gambrinus Mardi Gras festivities, i.e., Den Party, pre- and post-parade parties and, of course, riding the float in the parade and seeing everyone! Bobby Martin The umbrella Parade and the Seawall Day Pa- rade! We have two blinged-out umbrellas that we continue to add more bling to every year. Liz Garcia Smith The Philadelphia Mummers when they would come and do a private show for the Krewe of Munch- kins at Shrimp ‘N Stuff back in the day! Mandi Lepo Funky uptown umbrella brigade. So much fun. Sandra Anderson Eggleston rotary Club of Texas City Mardi Gras Parade & Gala! Denise Laine Beene being a member of the Krewe of Gambrinus and being in the parade! Laissez les bons temps rouler! Fred Koperski Knights of Momus Coronation. Sarah Piel Fat Tuesday parade. Kathy Whatley Designing and making masks a la Danny Mor- gan-style. House parties along the parade route. Forest Riggs Decorating for Mardi Gras! Paula Ozymy Decorating a Mardi Gras tree at Christmas and keeping it up through Mardi Gras season. Walking in the barkus and Meoux parade to benefit the Gal- veston Island Humane Society with my rescue pets! Laura Pennino The Z Krewe ball weekend. I enjoy the balcony parties and parades, but ball weekend is my fav. Carroll Cobb The beads! Wanda McWhorter Huddleston Taking my daughters and now my grandsons to the parades the first weekend. Kathy Silva Garza eating king cake and catching beads! (Not at the same time, of course.) Shannon Huse Caldwell Completely hedonistic and overindulgent eating of king cake! Holly Thorson riding on the Lemonade Day bus. Robert S. Evans What’s your favorite Mardi Gras tradition? FIL e PHOTO: J e NNIF er re YNOLDS More than 3 million beads will be thrown during Mardi Gras! Galveston, which features 20 parades over two weekends. For a list of parades, see pages 94-95.houstonmethodist.org/pcg/southeast 713.441.7265 Convenient, customized care — close to work or home. Our Houston Methodist primary care doctors provide personalized care for you and your family, including physicals, immunizations and preventive health services. Many of our practices: • Provide in-person and virtual visits with online scheduling • Offer same-day sick visits • Are conveniently located close to work or home • Accept most major insurance plans 45 146 8 Friendswood League City Clear Lake Pasadena PRIMARY CARE Personalized to You14 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 FEATURE THE GILDED AGE Mardi Gras and its oldest krewe enjoy a resurgence of energy and interest story by KATHRYN EASTBURN D epending on where you’re sitting or standing, a Galveston Mardi Gras parade can be a blowout party of loud streetside revelers, crowded together and jostling for the best position to catch beads, or a high-mounted ride along historic streets on an elaborate float with friends and family, decked out in themed costumes, hurling beads at the crowd below and nodding to a tradition held for more than 150 years on the island. Maintaining the tradition longest, with its Grand Night Parade near the end of the two-week cel- ebration, is the Krewe of the Knights of Momus. Established first in 1871 by a group of prominent Galveston businessmen during the island’s famed Gilded Age, before the 1900 Storm, Momus marked the pre-Lenten season with torch-lit night parades, royal balls and, eventually, the introduction of young women to society as Mardi Gras duchesses, with lavish coronation events reported on society pages by the likes of the New York Times. Mardi Gras celebrations and Momus itself waxed and waned over the past century and a half, ceasing altogether at times because of natural disasters or national crises. But since 1984, when philanthropist George P. Mitchell staked part of his fortune and a good deal of his attention on renewing Mardi Gras as well as Momus, Mardi Gras has experienced a re- surgence of participation and interest. New krewes have emerged in Momus’ wake and more parades have attracted bigger crowds each year. COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 15 Mardi Gras revelers toss beads to the crowd on 25th Street in Galveston during the 2019 Knights of Momus Grand Night Parade. This year’s parade, scheduled for Feb. 18, will feature 15 floats and the largest number of Momus members and significant others riding them. FIL e PHOTO: J e NNIF er re YNOLDS16 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 FEATURE This year, Galveston’s 2023 Mardi Gras Grand Night Parade, scheduled for Feb. 18, will feature 15 floats and the largest number of Momus members and significant others riding them. The theme will be The Gilded Age, heralding Gal- veston’s golden days of commerce and wealth with 21st century busi- ness tycoon and Galveston native Tilman Fertitta holding the torch Mitchell once held. Among the floats, most brought over by barge from New Orleans back in 1985 and refurbished over the years, will be four new ones built from the ground up by Momus member Brian Root who, along with wife Emily, owns and operates the island’s Oleander Ho- tel, along with a design center and a home and remodeling company. “The year before COVID, I vol- unteered to do electrical work on the floats,” Brian Root said. That year’s Momus parade mar- shal asked whether Root would be interested in rebuilding two of the older floats. Later, he was contract- ed by Momus to build four new floats to be leased by corporate sponsors. The work all is conduct- ed at an old island warehouse at 44th and Winnie streets. Root had to find the large rolling trailer platforms on which the floats are erected, agricultural ma- chinery called running gears used in cotton and cane farming. “I didn’t even know what they were called,” he said. “They used to be salvaged from fields in Lou- isiana, but I finally found the only manufacturer who sells them in Arthur, Illinois.” The new floats will be two sto- ries, 30 feet long by 10 feet wide, (Above) Knights of Momus members celebrate the food, drink and music of “Viva Italia!” in 2006. (Opposite, clockwise from top) Knights of Momus parade in 1997; Don Kidd puts a string of beads on the George Mitchell Float before the 2022 Knights of Momus Grand Night Parade. Mitchell in the 1980s is responsible for the revival of Mardi Gras on the island; a float rider sips his drink on the Jester Head Float before the 2020 Knights of Momus Grand Night Parade. FIL e PHOTO: TH e DAILY N e WS COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 17 FIL e PHOTOS: ST u A r T VILLAN ue VA AND TH e DAILY N e WS18 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 FEATURE with room for as many as 36 people on board. Once they’re built, local artists will decorate and paint them to match this year’s theme. One of the floats Root is building will be the Fertitta family’s float, dec- orated with a 10-foot-by-8-foot icon sporting logos of commercial hold- ings by Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and the Landry’s Inc. restaurant, hotel and gaming empire, which is among the largest privately owned companies in the United States. Public relations professional and Galveston native Dancie Ware, representing Fertitta, said he has become energized and excited about Mardi Gras in recent years, sustain- ing a multi-generational dedication to Momus — Fertitta’s father was a charter member — and picking up George Mitchell’s mantle, especially financially. Ware worked closely with Mitchell to orchestrate a resurgence of Mardi Gras back in the 1980s, conducting extensive research on early island tra- ditions as well as commissioning the first nine Momus floats from famed New Orleans float builder Blaine Kern. She remembers well the day those barges arrived from New Orleans. “It was a fantastic day,” she said. “They arrived by water, these huge constructions with giant Greek gods on them.” The Momus theme that first revival year celebrated Greek mythology. “We were determined that our revival of Mardi Gras in Galveston would be dedicated to upholding historic traditions,” Ware said. Mitchell’s plan for reviving Mardi Gras was designed as an economic boost for Galveston as well, a midwinter celebra- tion to bring tourists to the island for a full two weeks during off-season. This year, Ware and her family will be riding on one of the Momus floats, dressed in their Gilded Age finery, upholding the Momus Grand Night Parade tradition alongside old and new members alike. “We’ve had a lot of difficult times in Galveston, but there’s always Mardi Gras,” said Scott Rice, president of Momus. Rice, a BOI, which refers to people born on the island, recalls standing on the streets as a kid, then attending Mardi Gras events as a high schooler and during his college years, observ- ing the pageantry. “There’s something for everyone at Mardi Gras,” he said. “We can put our problems away for a few hours and socialize. Getting to know your neigh- bors and having a good time is what it’s all about.” Brian Root and his wife, Emily, who own and operate a design center, a home building and remodeling company and the Oleander Hotel in downtown Galveston, are building four new Mardi Gras floats for the Knights of Momus. 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