Celebrate Mardi Gras in Panama City Beach

PANAMA CITY BEACH – It's time to party Mardi Gras style once more at Pier Park in Panama City Beach.

The Krewe of Dominique Youx brings its annual parade and associated musical performances to the retail center and nearby Aaron Bessant Park for a two-day celebration capped with fireworks each evening. The festival is always held the weekend before Fat Tuesday and features entertainment for the whole family.

Combining the excitement of an authentic Mardi Gras celebration with spectacular views of white sandy beaches and emerald water, the Panama City Beach Mardi Gras & Music Festival returns Friday and Saturday, March 1-2. The free, fun-filled and family-friendly event includes parades, costume contests and more. Musical performances will feature co-headliners Lonestar and Chicks with Hits.

“Mardi Gras is always one of the most festive and fun weekends of the year in Panama City Beach,” said Dan Rowe, president and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach. “With a Grammy-nominated lineup of musicians including Lonestar performing this year, this event is the perfect opportunity to invite families back to the beach and make new memories.” 

The parade will celebrate the 2019 royals of Dominique Youx, King Bill Henry and his Queen Pam Walsingham. They will be joined by a court of six pirates and princesses, including Bill Price and Marcy Estep, Bill Moody and Cindy Ropa, Mike Jones and Ingrid Rachesky Pearce, Tom Seldenright and Anji Stabler, Ken Powell and Lisa McLendon, and Jimmy Calton and Lynn Marie Harmon. The coronation took place during the krewe's 33rd annual Mardi Gras Ball on Feb. 9, at Edgewater Beach Resort.

While the TDC and the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau handle management and promotion of the event, the Krewe of Dominique Youx is all about the parades — from the Kids and Second Line parades Friday to the Mardi Gras at the Beach Main Parade on Saturday. The Krewe pays for their own costumes, equipment and floats — some of which were seen during last weekend’s St. Andrews Mardi Gras Parade.

Crowds of 50,000 are expected for the carnival-style celebration at Pier Park, a lively backdrop with shopping and restaurants. Any children are welcome to dress up like pirates and ride on a float in the Kids Parade as long as there’s room. Adults are welcome to don a pirate hat and walk in the Second Line Parade to hand out beads — along with extra treats, which have included everything from swords to footballs.

Friday's activities include tours of festive floats, a Kids' Fun Zone and vendor village, and the Kids' Parade at 6 p.m. A Second Line Crawl parade will follow opening ceremonies and wind through the streets of Pier Park starting at 7 p.m. Friday. Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band will take to the amphitheater stage at 7:30 p.m., and a fireworks display will fill the sky over the Russell-Fields City Pier at 8:30 p.m.

Saturday starts early with the annual Mardi Gras 5K run/walk at Frank Brown Park. Immediately following the 5K, a Mardi Gras theme costume contest will be held (family-friendly costumes only). Those who registered for the race by Feb. 15 will receive colorful race T-shirts (shirts will be limited or may not be available race day).  Awards will be given out, and post-race beverages and snacks will be provided, as well as Mardi Gras beads for all participants. For updates and details, visit Facebook.com/DragginTailRunners.

The Kids’ Fun Zone and Festival Village opens at noon on Saturday, which is when the trio of Terri Clark, Pam Tillis and Suzy Bogguss — aka "Chicks with Hits" — will perform in concert. Lonestar will follow them at 1:30 p.m., and Victor Wainwright & the Train will perform at 3 p.m.

"I believe that for roots music to grow, and reach out to new audiences, we have to push it forward," said Wainwright, who was nominated for a 2019 Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. "If you listen to the lyrics, what I'm really saying is, we got to get on the train and move forward together."

The Krewe of Dominique Youx Mardi Gras at the Beach Main Parade begins about 4:15 p.m. The parade will start at the intersection of Powell Adams Road and Front Beach Road, travel west to the Pier Park entrance and follow the main drive toward Town Center. It will turn onto Starfish Drive, then Bluefish Drive, ending on Stingray Drive.

The krewe has a long tradition in Bay County, started in 1986 when Errol Legasse and the late Jerry Castardo formed the Krewe of Dominique Youx with a group of local residents. The krewe, which originally began parading in golf carts in Bay Point, has grown to include about 185 members who "value the spirit and tradition that stems from the Age of Piracy when a few brave pirates chose to support Gen. Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. Dominique Youx was among those few," according to information at the group's website, DYKrewe.org.

Waylon Thibodeaux will perform on the main stage at 5:15 p.m., and the closing fireworks will fly earlier on Saturday, starting at 7 p.m. 

“Most of the time you think about Mardi Gras, you think about New Orleans, so we tried to put a blend with Cajun music, fiddles and accordions, things associated with Mardi Gras,” Richard Sanders, vice president of sports marketing and special events for the CVB, said in 2017. “And we stress it is a family-friendly event and knowing the demographic of winter residents we went with a blend of easy listening music, and it seemed to work out real well. Once we changed over to that type of event, three years ago, we were named the top five Mardi Gras event outside of New Orleans, and a lot depends on the Mardi Gras entertainment provided.”

Additional reporting by News Herald writer Jan Waddy.

Friday, March 1

• 4-6:30 p.m. - Float Tours
• 4-6:30 p.m. - Kids’ Fun Zone / Festival Village
• 6 p.m. - Kids’ Parade
• 6:30 p.m. - Opening Remarks and Kids’ Costume Contest
• 7 p.m. - Second Line Crawl Parade
• 7:30- 8:30 p.m. - Live Entertainment featuring Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band
• 8:30 p.m. - Fireworks

Saturday, March 2 

• 8 a.m. - Mardi Gras 5K
• Noon - Kids’ Fun Zone / Festival Village
• Noon to 1:15 p.m. - Live Entertainment featuring Chicks with Hits (Terri Clark, Pam Tillis and Suzy Bogguss)
• 1:30-2:45 p.m. - Live Entertainment featuring headliner Lonestar
• 3-4 p.m. - Live Entertainment featuring Victor Wainwright & the Train
• 4:15-5:45 p.m. - Krewe of Dominique Youx Mardi Gras at the Beach Main Parade
• 5:45-6:45 p.m. - Live Entertainment featuring Waylon Thibodeaux
• 7 p.m. - Fireworks

PCB MARDI GRAS SCHEDULE