Mobile's Mardi Gras Secrets

Photo by Keyhole Photo Mardi Gras officially began in Mobile, Alabama, in 1703, a full 15 years before the city of New Orleans was even founded. Mobile's first masked ball, Masque de la Mobile, was held the following year and the first parade in 1711. Sixteen men pushed a cart carrying a papier mache cow's head through town. Mobile Mardi Gras has evolved and expanded since its rustic beginnings, but mystery and intrigue still surround the celebration, with secret krewes and masked figures often reveling behind closed doors. The public side of Mobile Mardi Gras has grown enormously since that first 16-member parade, with 41 parades on the schedule for this year and almost a million people estimated to attend the festivities. After moving back home to Mobile from Ohio, photographer Meggan Haller and her husband, Jeff, a native of Nebraska, decided to start documenting Mardi Gras in Mobile. Owners of Keyhole Photo, the couple has spent several years photographing parades, pageants, balls, bands and a few behind the scenes goings on. Photo by Keyhole Photo Photo by Keyhole Photo "There's a lot of different ways to celebrate Mardi Gras here," says Meggan, "and I'm fascinated by all of the different aspects." "Some are very