Special Report
20 Best Places to Celebrate Mardi Gras That Aren't New Orleans
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Mardi Gras, a festival that came to the United States as a French Catholic tradition, is celebrated on March 1 this year. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” reflecting the practice of eating rich foods the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.
Although New Orleans is the city most famous for its Mardi Gras revelry, some historians believe that Mobile, Alabama, may have been the first place to observe it. Mobile was founded by French settlers in 1702 and French soldiers held an impromptu Mardi Gras celebration there the following year, while New Orleans didn’t even exist until 1718. (Defenders of New Orleans note that French explorers had a Fat Tuesday party in 1699, 60 miles or so from what later became the city, so had a head start.) (Read about the most distinctive ancestry in every state.)
Mardi Gras is now celebrated all over America, sometimes in places that have observed the holiday for generations and sometimes in relative newcomers to the Mardi Gras spirit.
To compile a list of the best places to celebrate Mardi Gras aren’t New Orleans, 24/7 reviewed a a survey published by the lawn care services site Lawn Love. The site computed composite scores for 200 U.S. cities based on their rankings in three differently weighted categories: partying (number of Mardi Gras events and festivals; party supply stores per square mile; and metaphysical stores [selling occult paraphernalia] per square mile); eating and drinking (bars and establishments serving Cajun and Creole food per square mile); and community interest (Google search volume for the terms “Mardi Gras” and “Fat Tuesday” over the past 12 months). (Food is an important part of Mardi Gras celebrations. These are the iconic southern foods every American should try.)
Lawn Love drew their information from the Association of Metaphysical Stores, Coastal Mississippi, Gemstone Well, Google Ads, Google Events, Lafayette Travel, TripAdvisor, and Yelp.
Interestingly, the No. 1 spot goes to St. Louis, Missouri, with an overall score of almost 50, although the city’s historic Soulard neighborhood has only been celebrating Mardi Gras since 1980. However, St. Louis has a strong French heritage, having been founded by Pierre Laclède in 1763. Perhaps not surprisingly, the No. 2 and 3 spots go to the Louisiana cities of Baton Rouge and Metairie, with scores of roughly 43 and 39, respectively. (Note that some traditional Mardi Gras celebrations have been canceled in the past couple of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and/or bad weather, but most are rebounding for 2022.)
Click here to see the 20 best places to celebrate Mardi Gras that aren’t New Orleans
20. Minneapolis, MN
> Overall score: 18.45
> Partying rank: 17
> Eating and drinking rank: 23
> Community interest rank: 34
Minneapolis celebrates Mardi Gras with parades, parties, walking tours, and other events at bars and nightclubs around the city.
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19. Alexandria, VA
> Overall score: 18.59
> Partying rank: 120
> Eating and drinking rank: 4
> Community interest rank: 94
Fairfax County has lots of Mardi Gras events, beginning four days before the day itself with the event dubbed “First Friday: Mardi Gras in Alexandria.”
18. San Diego, CA
> Overall score: 18.66
> Partying rank: 10
> Eating and drinking rank: 70
> Community interest rank: 14
San Diego got an early start this year with a party in the Gaslamp Quarter on February 25, as well as a parade and other events.
17. Denver, CO
> Overall score: 19.66
> Partying rank: 13
> Eating and drinking rank: 27
> Community interest rank: 15
Denver has numerous Mardi Gras celebrations. Past events have included “7 Deadly Sins,” featuring mini-casinos, a voodoo bar, and other attractions.
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16. Philadelphia, PA
> Overall score: 21.05
> Partying rank: 21
> Eating and drinking rank: 18
> Community interest rank: 4
Philadelphia’s Mardi Gras celebrations include a carnival and bar crawl. One saloon features a month-long themed pop-up event.
15. Atlanta, GA
> Overall score: 21.5
> Partying rank: 12
> Eating and drinking rank: 26
> Community interest rank: 5
Atlanta’s events include a Midtown Mardi Gras Block Party, with more than 25 bars and restaurants participating, and a Mardi Gras Streetcar Adventure.
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14. Chicago, IL
> Overall score: 21.78
> Partying rank: 16
> Eating and drinking rank: 15
> Community interest rank: 9
Chicago is known for its food so it’s no surprise that it celebrates Mardi Gras in style with culinary specialties including gumbo, shrimp boil, and beignets at various venues around town. This year’s events also include an inaugural Mardi Gras Rooftop Jubilee.
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13. Seattle, WA
> Overall score: 22.63
> Partying rank: 50
> Eating and drinking rank: 3
> Community interest rank: 16
Seattle celebrates Mardi Gras with parties and parades, although a deadly Fat Tuesday riot in 2001 led to a temporary moratorium on future celebrations (no longer in force).
12. Orlando, FL
> Overall score: 23.55
> Partying rank: 8
> Eating and drinking rank: 43
> Community interest rank: 10
Orlando’s events include Mardi Gras at Universal Studios Florida, which is held on select nights from February through April.
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11. Pensacola, FL
> Overall score: 23.74
> Partying rank: 7
> Eating and drinking rank: 37
> Community interest rank: 92
Pensacola has a Mardi Gras Grand Parade. It was canceled in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic and will be shorter than usual this year because of staffing shortages.
10. Houston, TX
> Overall score: 24.78
> Partying rank: 6
> Eating and drinking rank: 46
> Community interest rank: 8
There are numerous events in Greater Houston and nearby Galveston, where Mardi Gras celebrations date back to the 1850s.
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9. Las Vegas, NV
> Overall score: 24.85
> Partying rank: 38
> Eating and drinking rank: 19
> Community interest rank: 1
To some people Las Vegas is a year-round party, so Mardi Gras might not seem any different than usual. Perhaps surprisingly, though, the city hosts Mardi Gras Masquerade Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K races.
8. Dallas, TX
> Overall score: 26.23
> Partying rank: 5
> Eating and drinking rank: 84
> Community interest rank: 12
Dallas is celebrating with a parade, masquerade party, and Mardi Gras village along Oak Cliff’s West Davis Street this year. Past events have included Mardi Gras Texas Style, a one-day event that featured up to 30 bands.
7. Mobile, AL
> Overall score: 27.03
> Partying rank: 3
> Eating and drinking rank: 104
> Community interest rank: 44
Mobile claims to be the birthplace of America’s Mardi Gras, going back to 1703, a story that’s told at the Mobile Carnival Museum. Celebrations begin more than two days before Fat Tuesday.
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6. Miami, FL
> Overall score: 27.86
> Partying rank: 14
> Eating and drinking rank: 5
> Community interest rank: 6
Miami and the adjacent city of Miami Beach boast that Fat Tuesday means “masquerades, parades, hurricane cocktails, and jazz.”
5. San Francisco, CA
> Overall score: 31.81
> Partying rank: 29
> Eating and drinking rank: 1
> Community interest rank: 22
“Mardi Gras San Francisco Style” includes a parade and a free concert in the city’s historic Fillmore District.
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4. New York, NY
> Overall score: 35.2
> Partying rank: 4
> Eating and drinking rank: 17
> Community interest rank: 2
New York celebrates Mardi Gras with events and parties around the city, with many restaurants offering Mardi Gras-related dishes.
3. Metairie, LA
> Overall score: 39.23
> Partying rank: 9
> Eating and drinking rank: 2
> Community interest rank: 61
Metairie and the surrounding Jefferson Parish have many Mardi Gras events, including Family Gras, a free three-day festival of concerts, parades, and other attractions.
2. Baton Rouge, LA
> Overall score: 43.39
> Partying rank: 2
> Eating and drinking rank: 10
> Community interest rank: 27
Mardi Gras is huge in Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana. There are no fewer than nine parades in the days before March 1.
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1. St. Louis, MO
> Overall score: 49.76
> Partying rank: 1
> Eating and drinking rank: 6
> Community interest rank: 32
St. Louis holds the No. 1 spot as the best place to celebrate Mardi Gras outside New Orleans, even though it has only been doing so since 1980. St. Louis has a strong French heritage, having been founded by Pierre Laclède in 1763. Mardi Gras events are centered in the historic Soulard neighborhood.
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