The Krewe De Tigris bring Mardi Gras to the Auburn Plains
Reading time: 3 minutes
Despite the renown of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Alabamians know the true origins of Mardi Gras began in Mobile—all the way back in 1703. Across the state, many other cities have adopted Mardi Gras parades, and Auburn is no exception.
On Saturday, March 1, the streets of Downtown Auburn were teeming with parade floats, flying beads + purple, green and gold clad community members for its eighth annual Mardi Gras parade.
Keep reading to learn more about what this year’s parade featured!
The Krewe De Tigris
The Krewe De Tigris, Auburn’s own Mardi Gras social organization, returned for another year to bring “myth and magic” to the Plains. The Krewe was established in 2016 with the intention of creating fellowship + community with its members year-round.
“The spirit of our Krewe exists in the dreams of a people who share a love of place and a sense of history. These dreams vest in the mysteries of a land where children dig for buried treasure in the red clay, where friends are as family, where time is measured by church bells, where celebrations erupt on a street corner and trees are draped with wisps of white.”
~ The Krewe De Tigris Mythology
The center of Downtown Auburn’s roads were blocked off around noon on Saturday to make way for the afternoon’s festivities.
The parade took place from 2PM to 3:15PM + stretched for one mile. The route ran from Thatch to Gay Street, then continued onto Tichenor Avenue + South College Street.
The parade featured:
- Nine floats
- A car driving Miss Auburn University
- Several walking + dancing groups
- Businesses
- Golf carts
The Krewe Crawl
From noon to 2PM, the Auburn Downtown Merchants Association hosted a Krewe Crawl for members of the community over 21 years of age. Those who purchased a $20 ticket were granted a wristband + used a purple souvenir cup to enjoy beverage samples at a list of bars + restaurants.
All funds raised went back to support local businesses.
Participating businesses this year included:
- 17/16
- Bunkers
- The Collegiate Hotel
- Drafthouse
- Halftime
- The Hound
- Jack Browns
- Moe’s
- One Forty Grill
- Staks
- Southeastern
- Skybar
- Tacorita
Many other businesses along the route set tables outside with products to sell to passersby. Boulangerie, a locally-owned French bakery, could be seen selling mini King Cakes—with a line quickly forming as soon as they were placed on the table.
Following the parade, the trees of Toomer’s Corner were left adorned with toilet paper while stray beads, Moon Pies + candy littered the roads downtown.
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