Huntsville’s Mardi Gras parade began in a kitchen. Eight years ago, Blount Hospitality House executive director Marydae Sneed had the idea to give North Alabama residents a Mardi Gras experience here. Her thinking was, “Most of our citizens will never travel south to Mobile or New Orleans.”

Sneed and her husband Ben Blank invited Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and his wife Eula Battle over to their home to discuss the idea over a cocktail. “And standing in our kitchen, we all got excited about the possibilities of a Mardi Gras celebration in our growing downtown,” Sneed says. “At that time, Decatur had just had their first parade, which had been a great success, so we felt there certainly was a market for this idea.”

The Huntsville Mardi Gras Parade debuted in 2014. This Saturday, the parade’s seventh incarnation gets rolling 4:30 p.m. on the corner of Monroe and Meridian street. It will take about an hour to complete its mile-ish downtown route, before ultimately ending back at its starting point. Each year, the parade has hosted around 20 krewes, organizations who march or ride in floats during the celebration.

The 4th Annual Huntsville Mardi Gras Grand Parade weaves through downtown streets Saturday Feb. 25, 2017. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com) AL.comAL.com

It’s through these krewe entries as well as sponsorships raise funds for Blount Hospitality House, located a few blocks off the parade tour at 610 Madison St. The nonprofit facility provides a low-cost “home away from home” for patients and/or their families from out of town seeking medical treatment in Huntsville. The idea, Sneed says, is reducing “emotional and financial stress for people facing a medical crisis in a city where they may be strangers.”

Blount Hospitality House has served close to 30,000 families since opening in 1980. The facility contains 10 bedrooms and can sleep up to 30 guests. Rates are $35 for the first night and $25 thereafter. There are only three people on staff, including Sneed, who’s been the organization’s leader since 2006. Asked what drew her to the cause, she answers with another question, " Who wouldn’t want to be involved with helping families when they are at one of their most trying times?" She adds, “We like to think of ourselves as a safe harbor during a stormy night.”

Blount Hospitality House is completely dependent on fundraising from events such as the Mardi Gras Parade, to pay the facility’s utility bill. “At this time, we do not have a single beneficiary,” Sneed says, “but are actively looking for one.” That situation makes Sneed extra grateful to the parade’s krewes, often comprised just of groups of friends. These include the Cotton Candies, a pink-clad throng of dancers who got their start in the Huntsville Mardi Gras Parade, have gone on to appear in London’s New Year’s Day parade and return Saturday. There’s also the high-heeled Krewe of Nyx. Over the years, one of the more memorable floats was a green creation by Elysian Fields, a krewe representing the Jones Valley neighborhood.

The 4th Annual Huntsville Mardi Gras Grand Parade weaves through downtown streets Saturday Feb. 25, 2017. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com) AL.comAL.com

“We would love to welcome more krewes in years to come,” Sneed says. “A couple of our krewes will hopefully be hosting a workshop in the fall for any group that may be interested in forming their own.” There are “very few” parade volunteers, she says, to help clean up afterwards. So more of those would also be welcomed.

The 4th Annual Huntsville Mardi Gras Grand Parade weaves through downtown streets Saturday Feb. 25, 2017. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com) AL.comAL.com

Of course, Huntsville Mardi Gras Parade floats don’t have the budgets or spectacle of those in Mobile and New Orleans. Or history. Mobile’s Mardi Gras parade dates back to 1711 and is believed to be the first held in North America. New Orleans laissez les bons temps rouler in 1857. According to mardigrasneworleans.com, “The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced to medieval Europe, passing through Rome and Venice in the 17th and 18th centuries to the French House of the Bourbons. From here, the traditional revelry of ‘Boeuf Gras,’ or fatted calf, followed France to her colonies.”

2016 Huntsville Mardi Gras parade downtown Huntsville, Ala. Saturday Feb. 6th to benefit Blount Hospitality House. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com)AL.com

Even in Huntsville, Mardi Gras is one of the city’s smallest parades. Yet, according to Sneed, the event still draws around 12,000 to 15,000 people downtown. That’s a lot of extra foot traffic for downtown businesses. “We have heard the day of the parade is one of the busiest days downtown, certainly in February,” Sneed says. Since the parade is expensive to put on, she hopes in the future some local businesses who benefit from that bump will help Blount Hospitality House make the parade - and its draw - even bigger.

More Mardi Gras events in Huntsville seem to manifest each year. Saturday, there’s a new, NOLA-flavored second-line parade and funk concert 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at MidCity outdoor venue The Camp, address 5909 University Drive N.W. In coming years, Sneed would like to see local Mardi Gras parties coordinate, to give Huntsville a better shot at building into a Mardi Gras destination.

The 4th Annual Huntsville Mardi Gras Grand Parade weaves through downtown streets Saturday Feb. 25, 2017. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com) AL.comAL.com

Sights are part of any Mardi Gras parade, but so are sounds. This year's Huntsville floats will include an entry from pop radio station WZYP-FM. The Huntsville Fire and Rescue Pipe and Drum band is marching. And locally iconic band Microwave Dave & The Nukes will perform blues and beyond, from aboard a flatbed trailer.

For Huntsville's parade, a "throw zone" is designated for that traditional treasured trinket, Mardi Gras beads. This area, that's from South Side Square, down Washington Street to Holmes Avenue. Attendees looking for a family-friendly vibe may want to watch the parade from First United Methodist Church, address 120 Greene St. S.E.

Throwing beads at the 2016 Huntsville Mardi Gras parade downtown Huntsville, Ala. Saturday Feb. 6th to benefit Blount Hospitality House. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com)AL.com

A Huntsville native, Sneed has never been to Mardi Gras in Mobile. And believe it or not she’s never even set foot in New Orleans. Period. But for any purists who scoff at the very concept of a Huntsville Mardi Gras parade, seven years in, she invites them to come see for themselves. “It’s colorful and fun. And will simply make your day to see so many happy faces for a great cause.” More info: mardigrashuntsville.com, blounthospitalityhouse.org.

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