There’s no turning back. Mobile is fully into Deep Gras now.

The term, which went viral in 2020 after being coined by New Orleans musician, songwriter and radio personality Dominique Lejeune, refers to the last week of Mardi Gras. The exact boundaries are a little blurry, but Lejeune defined it as the period starting at noon Wednesday in the week before Fat Tuesday and ending at noon on Ash Wednesday – which might be stretching it a bit, even for those who party until sunrise. But at the minimum, for many in Mobile, Friday marks the start of a four- or five-day weekend.

The opening Wednesday tends to be a quiet day in Mobile: The Fifty Funny Fellows mystic society holds its ball on that day, but the group doesn’t parade. It’s sometimes used as a rain day for parades that got washed out earlier in the season, but otherwise it’s a lull.

That leaves the opening of Deep Gras to the Mystic Stripers Society, a group that held its typically energetic parade Thursday evening on Mobile’s Route A. See photos in the accompanying gallery.

The Krewe of Columbus follows at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening, and then things get serious, with nonstop parades through Fat Tuesday. The parade schedule can be found here. For ongoing coverage, click here.