Apalachicola expands Mardi Gras to two-day party
The Mystic Krewe of Salty Barkers will be celebrating Mardi Gras Apalach-style bigger and better than ever this year, with a two-day party for dogs and their people.
The celebration includes a lively street festival and of course the 14th annual Mardi Gras Pet Parade and takes place on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22 at Riverfront Park in Apalachicola.
All visitors and their furry friends are invited to join this paw-some event.
The theme for 2025 is “Game of Bones – the Canine Kingdom Rules.” It will be tail-wagging fun to journey into an imaginary world of canines and castles. Parading pups and their people will be wearing costumes inspired by the noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms. Guests can expect regal kings and queens, magicians, brave knights, rogues, and daring dragons. The creativity and spirit guests bring to this spectacle of sword and sorcery will be a sight to see.
New this year, the event kicks off with an exciting day of fun and frivolity on Friday, Feb. 21, from 2 to 8 pm ET. Guests can enjoy the Fido-Do (a Salty Barker version of a fais do-do), an old-fashioned Mardi Gras street event. Friday’s activities include live music by Dirty Little Billy from 4 to 8 p.m, a beer and wine garden with local craft brews, street entertainment, an adopters reunion, costume and decorating contests, dragon relay races, and a live auction.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, the Mardi Gras Barkus Street Festival will continue from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Riverfront Park. Guests will enjoy over 40 vendors showcasing a variety of food, arts and crafts, live music by Chicken Phat, a beer and wine garden with local craft brews, and of course the Pet Parade.
Additional highlights include street entertainment, a silent auction, pet and family photos, pet adoptions through the Franklin County Humane Society and animal ambassadors from the Florida Wild Mammal Association. Other non-profit exhibitors will also be present, along with T-shirts and Mardi Gras merchandise for purchase.
The Barkus Parade is the crown jewel of the festival on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. The parade of decorated golf carts, boats, floats, and walkers – both the four-legged and two-legged kind – kicks off at Riverfront Park and winds through town, ending back at the park where the party will continue with all kinds of raucous fun.
Registration, for the parade of costumed dogs and their people, is $5 for walkers, $25 for golf carts, and $50 for floats. Canine companions, of course, are free.
The parade and street festival aren’t just for fun; it’s also for a good cause. The Mystic Krewe of Salty Barkers partners with local animal rescues to raise awareness and funds for animals in need. Not only will attendees have a great time, but they will also be making a difference for injured animals and those looking for their forever homes. The King and Queen of the parade are always shelter animals ready for a forever home.
Pre-register or get more details at saltybarkers.org or visit MardiGrasBarkusParade on Facebook. For more information, contact 850-624-8085 or apalachdogs@gmail.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.