—Also, Tuesday Night Processionals to Support Downtown During Construction—
Pensacola Mardi Gras is adapting to downtown’s “Reimagine Palafox” construction project with a temporary parade route change and a new series of Tuesday night events designed to bring crowds to local businesses during the six-week street closure.
Danny Zimmern, who has organized Pensacola Mardi Gras with Amy Newman for 25 years, announced the changes during this week’s podcast episode of “(We Don’t) Color On the Dog.”
Route Change
With Palafox Street closing Jan. 5 for construction, both major parades—the Krewe of Lafitte Parade on Friday, Feb. 13 and the Grand Mardi Gras Parade on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14—will follow a modified route for one year only.
- The new route starts traditionally on Spring Street, heads to Garden Street, then north on Palafox Street to Wright Street before returning to Garden Street. Here’s where it changes: Instead of turning south on Palafox as usual, parades will turn left (east) onto Garden, go one block to Jefferson Street, turn right, and proceed south on Jefferson Street to Main Street.
Essentially, the parade shifts one block east from Palafox to Jefferson for the Garden-to-Main stretch.
The biggest challenge? The Jefferson Street Parking Garage won’t be accessible once the streets close for the parade, eliminating a significant parking resource for Grand Parade spectators.
Tuesday Night Second Line Processionals
Mardi Gras wants to support downtown businesses during construction. Starting in January, the Mardi Gras community will host Tuesday night second-line processionals throughout the season…