No sooner are the Christmas lights off the tree than the Mardi Gras lights are up, the purple, green and gold flags are out, and the carnival season kicks off in a big way. Mardi Gras is always on "Fat Tuesday", 47 days before Easter (the 40 days and 7 Sundays of Lent) and the day before Ash Wednesday. Carnival season officially starts on January 6, the twelfth night after Christmas and ends with Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras is celebrated all along the Gulf Coast with balls, secret societies, King Cakes, and of course, parades.
The celebration in Pensacola, Florida has a Mardi Gras Kick off Party one week before the big event. There are parades, street dances, chili cook-offs, dinners, balls, champagne breakfasts, red beans & rice feasts, with the Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009.