Did you know that Mobile was home to the first Mardi Gras celebration in America? Since the first French observance in 1703, Mobile’s Mardi Gras has been celebrated with parades, fancy balls and exotic costumes. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, and parades and balls occur weeks before this day which marks the high point of the celebration and the beginning of lent. Mobile’s two mystic associations are Mobile Carnival Association (MCA) and Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA). Mobile Mardi Gras Parade Schedule View the Carnival/Mobile Mardi Gras Timeline