CARNIVAL ASSOCIATION OF LONG BEACH

History of Mardi Gras

The spirit of King Scott and Queen Rosalie is older than this historic spot the Mississippi Gulf Coast now calls Long Beach. Throughout the history of Europe, there is evidence of the celebration of Mardi Gras, which became permanently wedded to the three days preceding Ash Wednesday when Pope Gregory produced our present calendar around 600 AD. On Mardi Gras Day, 1699, the French explorer Iberville camped near the mouth of the Mississippi River and named the site Point du Mardi Gras, and a few years later, the festival was later first celebrated in Mobile, Alabama in 1704.

Carnival Association of Long Beach' s Story

Even though Long Beach did not have its first official Mardi Gras celebration until 1961, the spirit of the season was always present in the area. In 1960, a small group of mothers whose children attended St. Thomas Elementary School recognized a need for a source of continuing funds to finance the betterment of the quality of education for their children, so they undertook the task of sponsoring an annual Carnival Ball to coincide with Mardi Gras Season.

A contest was held to set a standard name for the King and Queen of Carnival, and Miss Mary Boggs submitted the names of Scott and Rosalie because the Long Beach Community was first known as Scott's Station and Rosalie. Miss Boggs had come up with an easy winner. By 1964, the small club of ladies had generated so much interest that it had become a community affair, and the name was changed from the St. Thomas Mother's Club to Carnival Association of Long Beach. By 1979 the organization had spread coast-wide and became officially incorporated by obtaining chartered status as legitimate tax-exempt charitable organization.