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Monday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 4pm Friday 9am - 4pm Saturday 9am - 4pm

Mobile Carnival Museum

Name: Mobile Carnival Museum
Address: 355 Government Street, Mobile, AL, 36602, US
Telephone: (251) 432-3324
Price range: $
Rating: 5

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Mobile Carnival Museum

The Mobile Carnival Museum highlights the history of Mardi Gras in the true birthplace- Mobile, Alab
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05/29/2026

Cahawba was the second town in Alabama to observe Carnival. Founded in 1819, this inland port town was created as the first permanent capital of the State of Alabama. In 1834, a group of young men in Cahawba founded G.G.H. While it remains known what the initials represented, this "up the country" mystic society quickly formalized their celebrations. By the 1840s, their festive observations included an annual parade, an oration, a ball (with tableaux), and a supper. Like the Cowbellion de Rakin Society in Mobile, which they modeled themselves, G.G.H. selected a new theme annually. Pictures informing this post are courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History and the Cahawba Archaeological Park. The photographs, along with an 1858 newspaper account, provide a hint into Antebellum Carnival culture outside of Mobile. Cahawba is one of over two dozen Alabama communities showcased in "Carnival in Alabama." Images of the Cahawba portion of the exhibit figure in this post. The town site is now home to the Old Cahawba Archaeological Park. Managed by the Alabama Historical Commission, with additional support from the Cahawba Foundation, this state park showcases the fascinating history of truly fascinating cultural and natural landscape. Visit Mobile Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page

05/27/2026

"Where the Boom, Boom Began and Thrives: Carnival in Alabama" provides a history of American Carnival in the state upon which stars fell. Two particularly notable pieces in the exhibit are highlighted in this post. "The Alabama River at Selma" and View of the City of Mobile (1836) first routes by which modern-day American Carnival first expanded beyond Mobile. It traveled up Alabama's enviable river system. Steamboats made possible more floats... Bad pun aside, rivers were the interstates of their day. Goods, people, ideas, and much more went up and down the Alabama, Tombigbee, and Mobile Rivers. Within a few short years of the founding of the Cowbellion de Rakin Society in Mobile, mystic societies in communities located off the Alabama River in the Black Belt region staged spectacles modeled on those in the Port City. Ensuing posts will shed light on some of these celebrations. The two pictures speak for themselves. The Frye painting is on loan from the Selma Dallas County Public Library. It is one of the most significant loans the Mobile Carnival Museum has ever taken. The 1836 map hails from a private collection. PMT Publishing facilitated the loan of this rare depiction of Mobile. Both works are best admired in person. There is so much detail to them! Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page Visit Mobile Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society

05/22/2026

Memorial Day, a federal holiday recognizing those who have lost their lives serving in the United States Armed Forces, provides an opportunity to reflect on the blessings of life. For many, the extended holiday weekend also affords an opportunity to relax and enjoy some good food. An interesting culinary item in "Where the Boom, Boom Began and Thrives: Carnival in Alabama" is a mystic society dinner menu dating from 1859. A close-up view of that menu reveals over thirty items making up one impressive spread! The Gulf-to-, Delta-to-, forest-to-, and farm-to-table are represented, and in true Mobile culinary style! While the Mobile Carnival Museum will be closed on Memorial Day, we are open for our regular hours of operation today and Saturday. Enjoy your patriotic respite and partake of some foodie goodness! Visit Mobile Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page

05/21/2026

If you have driven by the Mobile Carnival Museum recently, you might have noticed a flurry of activity on our grounds. Much is ongoing. Walls are rising on one of two additions to the Museum. Concurrent with the additions, several interior spaces are being remodeled within the Museum itself. The Museum will remain open throughout the whole of this exciting period of change. Construction and Carnival are good things! Visit Mobile Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page

05/20/2026

Happy Camel Day! That expression sounds better than check out this skeleton and this devil...! Renderings of those subjects do populate this post.

The fascinating drawings are the oldest documented Carnival artifacts in North America. Dating from the 1830s, these exquisite watercolors were executed by artist Jules Marne for the Cowbellion de Rakin Society. The first mystic society in the United States, the Cowbellions established the template for Carnival in this country. Parades designed and constructed to express a theme, they started that defining characteristic of Mardi Gras in the U.S.

Back to the costumes, can you imagine seeing or wearing these get-ups in a parade? The ensembles give you an idea why maskers starting donning masks! They are rather revealing! In all seriousness, the drawings, which are works of art in and of themselves, were not meant to last. Their purpose was to show a costume design for a performative spectacle that was fleeting in nature.

The Mobile Carnival Museum is grateful to the History Museum of Mobile for the loan of these special treasures. They figure prominently in the Carnival Museum's current thematic exhibit, "Where the Boom, Boom Began and Thrives: Carnival in Alabama." Be sure to visit the Museum. These drawings are among the many pieces that will intrigue the mind and the eye!

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05/18/2026

It’s that time……NAPPIE TIME…… Nominated for:

*Best Museum

* Best place to take Out-of-Towners

We agree with these nominations and YOU can too by voting for the Mobile Carnival Museum. Vote daily until May 31st.

05/11/2026

Upon entering the Main Gallery of the Mobile Carnival Museum, guests first encounter Carnival in Mobile 1830-1860. This grouping of displays is the second of eleven divisions making up "Where the Boom, Boom Began and Thrives: Carnival in Mobile." Some remarkable works of art and artifacts comprise this portion of the Museum's current thematic exhibit. The pictures populating this post provide a glimpse into a display whose content and narrative cover the first "golden age" of Carnival in Alabama, and the United States for that matter. Ensuing posts will explore a selection of the works comprising the display. Visit Mobile Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page

05/08/2026

Over the course of the past six weeks, eight of the Mobile Carnival Museum's galleries experienced overhauls. The final "refresh" involved the Museum's McCray Gallery, which is recognized in this post. The McCray Gallery offers guest of the Carnival Museum their first glimpse of Mardi Gras royal robes and serves as a formal introduction to the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA). These textiles accomplish both missions, and with panache! The Museum offers a special thanks to the 2026 "king mother" of MAMGA, who graciously assisted with the installation of her son's pieces. Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page Visit Mobile

05/07/2026

"Where the Boom, Boom Began and Thrives: Carnival in Alabama," the Mobile Carnival Museum's current thematic exhibit, " is comprised of thirteen sections. The pictures that populate this post depict displays in the first portion of the newly opened exhibit. Focusing the history, forms, and historiography of colonial era, this segment might not be the most visually stimulating part of the exhibit, but its narrative packs a wallop in terms of context. The most compelling aspect of the display is a reproduction of a wonderful 18th-Century map of the Mobile area. Mobile's waterways have always played a role in the Port City's history and destiny, even when it comes to Carnival! Maps and depictions of Mobile figure prominently in "Carnival in Alabama." They more than set a tune. Quite a few displays show Carnival in action and at its best. Be sure to take in the exhibit soon! Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page Visit Mobile

05/06/2026

The Parasol or Umbrella Gallery is a defining aspect of the guest experience of the Mobile Carnival Museum. Truly, visitors to the Carnival Museum do not know whether to revel in the cascade of parasols over their heads, marvel at the video of a second line featuring parasols in action, or take delight in some gorgeous textiles. The Parasol Gallery now features the ensembles of the 2026 Junior Monarchs of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association. Both sets of royal robes are laden with symbolism that tells the "stories" of these calendar year royals. Designers Patricia Ann Richardson and Johnny Weaver realized two beautiful works of art whose narratives are not only applicative to the young monarchs, but universal and accessible to all. Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page Visit Mobile

05/01/2026

Spring exhibit refreshes continue at the Mobile Carnival Museum. Today's post puts a spotlight on "Where the Boom, Boom Began and Thrives: Carnival in Alabama." The sixteenth installment in the Carnival Museum's thematic series of installations, this exhibit provides a history and a structure to Mardi Gras-related celebrations in the state upon which stars fell. The spread, variety, and evolution of celebrations from Gulf Shores to Huntsville over the centuries offers glimpses into the many meanings and popular embrace of tradition that traces its American beginnings to Mobile. Eleven divisions tell the rich story (and good times) of a portion of a larger cultural phenomenon like no other in United States. Visit Mobile Visit Mobile: CVB Member and Business Page

Address

355 Government Street
Mobile, AL
36602

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 4pm
Saturday	9am - 4pm

Telephone

(251) 432-3324

Website

http://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/

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