Washington Mardi Gras is a series of events that take place over the span of about a week. These events mainly take place in Washington D.C. at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Connecticut Avenue.
This year, the festivities majorly began on Wednesday, Jan. 22, just two days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Many of the attendees at Mardi Gras were able to be there in person to attend the inaugural ceremony, including Senator John Kennedy, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Congressman Clay Higgins and his wife Becca Higgins.
When asked about the ceremony, Senator Kennedy said, “It was star-spangled awesome!”
Kicking off on Wednesday, those who were able to obtain an invite arrived at the lit-up Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium around 7 p.m. and passed through the cold coat check to get to the final check-in. After checking in, guests were given light-up beads to put around their necks and invited inside the event room.
Upon entering the room, extravagant decorations came into view, such as a huge portrait of the Mona Lisa and a replica of the Eiffel Tower that reached up near the ceiling. Walking further in, lights were shone all around the room to make every wall a variation of green, purple, pink, or blue and beautiful flowers and beads were placed on every surface.
Waiters and waitresses paraded around plates of various drinks and foods, men stood around the room juggling light-up balls, mimes and magicians entertained the partygoers and a gold-dressed band played on a tall stage at the front of the room. There were also stations where artists were drawing caricatures of people posing.
On Thursday, Jan. 23, the next event was held. This night was called Louisiana Alive and it took place on the bottom floor of the hotel.
Around 6:30 p.m. guests in suits and dresses began making their way into the ballroom where there was loud cajun music, drinks, festive food and booths representing various businesses from around Louisiana.
Participants could walk around the center of the room and collect beads and giveaways from each booth while enjoying red beans and rice, boudin and cracklin, or cornbread.
By the end of the night, guests left with hats, beads, bags, and food galore.
Moving on to Friday, Jan. 24, at 6:30 p.m. people flooded into the ballroom on the bottom floor of the Hilton once again to find hundreds of tables set up with drinks, menus, flowers and decorations. Blue-tinted light filled the room, a speaker stood on the big stage and waiters walked around passing out the appetizer that was being served to each guest.
Once everyone found their seats, the speaker began to recognize various people who were in attendance, before starting the introductions of the 2025 Mardi Gras Princesses and the past Mardi Gras Queens.
The royalty paraded down the room in crowns and sashes until they found their table and sat down for the meal.
After the entree and dessert had been served and everyone was enjoying their food, a band took place on the stage and guests filed out of their seats to dance at the stage in the front of the room until it was time to retire back to their hotel rooms for the night.
By the last night of the week, exhaustion had begun to set in for everyone involved, but there was one last event to go all out for.
The Mardi Gras Ball was the largest and most important evening of the week. The ball took place on Saturday, Jan. 25 beginning at 8 p.m. and lasted well through to midnight.
As guests entered the ballroom once again, dressed in luxurious dresses and tuxedos, music was playing loudly and rows of numbered seats created a pathway through the room. Attendees found their way to their seats and a speaker introduced various politicians and special guests.
Once everyone had settled, the speaker introduced the colorful Krewe members and then the Princesses and the past Queens and the crowd watched as the girls dressed in all white were escorted around the walkway in between the rows. The 2025 King and Queen were introduced last before making their way to the parade float that awaited them.
While the parade was being prepared, a band from the Marines played songs on the stage but it was not long before the floats began their circulation. The Mardi Gras parade contained multiple elaborate floats including a giant crawfish, a royalty float and a bullhead. The 400 masked Krewe members walked alongside the floats to also throw beads and trinkets.
Once the parade was over, the call-out dances began and each Krewe member was tasked with finding a dance partner in the crowd.
If the dance was accepted, the guest would share a song with the Krewe member and then be rewarded with a special gift after the song was through. The gifts varied but generally included some type of gold jewelry.
After 5 call-out dances, the music played and all of the guests danced and enjoyed the last couple of hours of the 2025 Washington D.C. Mardi Gras.