{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://figures.house.gov/media/editorial/alcom-alabama-congressional-delegation-unites-crown-mobile-birthplace-mardi-gras", "AL.com: Alabama congressional delegation unites to crown Mobile the \u2018Birthplace of Mardi Gras\u2019", "2026-02-27", "2026", "2026-02", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Shomari Figures", "F000481", "figures.house.gov", "figures", "https://figures.house.gov/media", "scraper", "AL.com\n\nMardi Gras in Mobile has always been about more than moon pies, mystic societies, and the sounds of bass drums echoing down Royal Street.\n\nIt\u2019s a season when the city gathers residents and visitors alike to revel in tradition, spectacle, and the kind of communal joy that feels stitched into the Gulf Coast\u2019s DNA.\n\nThis year, it\u2019s also celebrating something far rarer: bipartisanship.\n\nIn a moment of unusual unity, Alabama\u2019s congressional delegation has adopted a resolution declaring Mobile the nation\u2019s \u201cBirthplace of Mardi Gras.\u201d The announcement arrived in a joint news release featuring quotes from all seven members of Alabama\u2019s U.S. House delegation.\n\nThe declaration rekindles Mobile\u2019s long-running rivalry with New Orleans\u2014a mostly playful, sometimes pointed tug-of-war over Carnival bragging rights. Mobile\u2019s claim rests on history: the city hosted the first organized Mardi Gras celebration in what would become the United States in 1703. That was 73 years before the nation\u2019s founding.\n\nNew Orleans officials often acknowledge those origins, even as they point to their own city\u2019s role in transforming Mardi Gras into a global cultural phenomenon.\n\n\u201cMardi Gras didn\u2019t start somewhere else and eventually find its way to Mobile, it started right here in 1703,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R\u2011Enterprise, whose district includes part of Mobile and all of Baldwin County\u2014another hotbed of parades and balls.\n\n\u201cFor more than 300 years, the people of Mobile have celebrated Mardi Gras with parades, balls, and community, marking the close of Carnival and the beginning of Lent,\u201d Moore said. \u201cThis tradition reflects the shared culture and community found on the Gulf Coast, passed down generation after generation. Mobile was the original home of Mardi Gras in America, and this resolution makes sure that history is recognized and remembered.\u201d\n\nDemocratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Mobile native, echoed the sentiment. While many associate Mardi Gras with New Orleans, he said, \u201cit is a historical fact that Mardi Gras began on the banks of the Mobile Bay in 1703.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince then, it has blossomed into one of the greatest and most well-known cultural celebrations in America,\u201d Figures said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to write this historical fact into the Congressional Record. New Orleans, you\u2019re welcome.\u201d\n\nLawmakers from districts far from the Gulf Coast also embraced the resolution, noting that Mardi Gras in Mobile is not only historic but the largest annual festival in Alabama.\n\n\u201cAlabama is a state steeped in history and remarkable firsts, from the very first 911 call made in my hometown here in the 4th Congressional District, to the birthplace of Mardi Gras in Mobile,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R\u2011Haleyville. \u201cLong before the tradition spread across the country, it was Mobile that created it, shaping a celebration that has become part of our national culture. Alabama hasn\u2019t just witnessed history, we\u2019ve helped shape it.\u201d\n\nOther lawmakers weighed in:\n\nU.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R\u2011Hoover: \u201cMardi Gras is a proud piece of Alabama\u2019s history, and Mobile\u2019s role as the birthplace of America\u2019s Carnival tradition is worth recognizing and preserving. I\u2019m glad to support this resolution honoring a tradition that has been celebrated for more than three centuries.\u201d\n\nU.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D\u2011Birmingham: She joined her colleagues in acknowledging the festival\u2019s Alabama roots, adding, \u201cI wish everyone celebrating a day of vibrance, extravagance, and fun!\u201d\n\nU.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R\u2011Saks: \u201cAlabamians are very proud of our legacy of being the original home of American Mardi Gras festivities. As we prepare for the Easter season, I am excited to join my friends in the Alabama delegation in celebrating Fat Tuesday and its roots in Mobile, Alabama.\u201d", 1, "2026-04-30T06:05:15Z", "2026-04-30T06:07:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://figures.house.gov/media/editorial/alcom-alabama-congressional-delegation-unites-crown-mobile-birthplace-mardi-gras"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2718949001282454, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}