By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Mardi Gras Galveston 2026 got off to a start that couldn’t be expressed more clearly and brightly than nature itself offered. The air was crisp, the sky was blue and clear, and the water from the Gulf added a magical touch in a mesmerizing shade of blue that sparkled and danced.
The strokes of paint nature provided made for a grand entrance for the first parade to roll down the Seawall onto Rosenberg and down to the entertainment district.
The Krewe of Aquarius led with their annual presentation of Poseidon, marching bands, pirates, and plenty of fun amusement, including the Hornets, a troupe of dancing young people from Channelview ISD.
The day rolled along with other parades, and as the sun set, there was still not a drop of rain, not a rain cloud to be seen, not a single clatter of thunder nor bolts of lightning. And so the Krewe of Gambrinus was able to roll down the streets, unlike the previous year when extreme weather had caused the parade to be canceled.
Serving as Grand Marshal for the Krewe of Gambrinus parade was Galveston’s Chief of Police Doug Balli, who had just spent a harrowing week leading his team in the investigation of a well-publicized crime.
The week before Mardi Gras, Galveston police had been able to track down a missing 12-year-old and rescue her. She was alive and reunited with her family. The rescue operation took place within a matter of a few hours of her family reporting her missing.
Included in the Krewe of Gambrinus parade were all of the a larger-than-life-size replicas attendees have come to enjoy including none other than King Gambrinus, court jesters, a longhorn steer, the beloved Clydesdale which was once perched atop the Del Papa warehouse in Galveston, marching bands, numerous compelling dancing krewes and an assortment of fire trucks and other motor-powered vehicles.
Topping off the spectacular weather were the traditional tens of thousands of strands of beads that were sailing from the parade to the revelers from the start of the day’s events till the very end.
