When I was hired almost three years ago to work for AL.com in Mobile, I knew comparisons between Mobile’s Mardi Gras and New Orleans’ Mardi Gras were inevitable.

I grew up in New Orleans and lived there until I moved to Illinois for college. Those four years in the cold are the only time in my 26 years that I’ve missed the Carnival season entirely. Even then, my dad would ship me a king cake for my birthday, which is exactly one month after Twelfth Night (the official start of the Carnival season). There are photos of me on the parade route as a baby.

I’m a bit of an expert on Mardi Gras, if I do say so myself. At least, an expert on New Orleans’ Mardi Gras.

I’ll admit it. I’m biased toward New Orleans. How could I not be? But Mobile’s Mardi Gras isn’t a lesser, smaller version of New Orleans’. It’s got its own unique traditions that are worth exploring. Personally, I’m looking forward to doing so this year.

My experience with Mobile’s Mardi Gras is somewhat limited: In 2023, the first year I was in Alabama for Mardi Gras, I came down with COVID-19 and had to miss several days of celebration. Last year, I went back to New Orleans to show some college friends around.

This year is the first year I’ll be able to experience a full Carnival season—from Twelfth Night all the way to Fat Tuesday—in Mobile.

And before I get any angry emails, I know New Orleans and Mobile aren’t the only two cities that celebrate Mardi Gras. They’re just the only two I’ve experienced. Pensacola, St. Louis, and coastal Mississippi all have their own celebrations worth checking out, to name a few.

From this New Orleanian-turned-Mobilian’s (limited) perspective, here are a few things about Mobile’s Mardi Gras that make it stand out.

Joe Cain Day

To start with the obvious, New Orleans does not celebrate Joe Cain Day.

Joseph Stillwell Cain is credited with reviving Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebration following the Civil War. Since his legend was popularized by Julian Rayford in the 1960s, Joe Cain Day—the Sunday before Mardi Gras—has taken on a life of its own in Mobile.

From the Merry Widows to the people’s parade in the afternoon, everyone who celebrates Mobile’s Mardi Gras has their own traditions on that day.

Interestingly, in Nevada City, Calif., residents also celebrated Joe Cain Day. Their celebration, which began in 1993, was inspired by Mobile’s. But eventually, Joe Cain Day became simply “Mardi Gras” there too.

People’s parades

Perhaps the biggest part of Joe Cain Day is the procession that runs through downtown Mobile in the afternoon. Dozens of walking groups participate, followed by the Joe Cain Parading Society.

That’s not the only people’s parade in coastal Alabama—there’s also one on Dauphin Island early in the Carnival season. Hundreds of people drive down to the island before parades even start in Mobile.

To be sure, processions are a staple in New Orleans and other cities too. There will be neighborhood parades, school parades and Mardi Gras Indians processions there.

But Mobile elevates its people’s parades to center stage, allowing residents and visitors to participate fully in the experience.

Throws

Mobile’s mystic societies love throwing snacks: the iconic Moon Pie, of course, but also Oatmeal Crème Pies, Ramen noodles, and even peanuts.

You might even get lucky and catch a package of Conecuh sausage from a float during the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association’s (MAMGA) Mammoth parade on Fat Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, edible throws are typically reserved for parades celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. Mardi Gras krewes tend to focus on their signature throws, like Muses’ hand-decorated shoes and Tucks’ plungers.

Other locales have their own specialty throws: In Nice, France, floats are decorated with flowers, which riders then throw to the crowds during the city’s “flower parade.”

RVs

In the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, people will pull their recreational vehicles (RVs) into lots across downtown Mobile, camping out in anticipation of parades. Some will even hoist flags representing their favorite parade.

More than 100 campers once used “RV City,” an overflow lot under Interstate 10 that, for 23 years, served as a makeshift campsite for RVers hoping to partake in Mardi Gras.

But RV City closed after the 2023 season to make way for construction of a new I-10 Bayway and Mobile River Bridge.

Nonetheless, campers still flock to downtown Mobile for the celebrations.

Barricades

This was a shock when I went to my first Mardi Gras parade in Mobile. Police barricades line the parade route, preventing spectators from getting too close to the floats or to the marching bands that walk in between.

And it’s not easy to cross the barricades, either. Mobile police officers strictly forbid people from crossing during parades and even in the minutes leading up.

I was surprised that revelers were not allowed to waltz right up to the side of the float, as is common practice in New Orleans (say, to grab one of those aforementioned special shoes).

But perhaps it is safer that way. And luckily, it’s easier to see the floats from behind the barricade.