Coastal Mississippi Mardi Gras Museum

Biloxi, Mississippi

This storefront museum traces the 300-year history of Mardi Gras in costal Mississippi, which, it takes pains to point out, far predates the better-promoted celebration in Louisiana.

The museum promises "the kings and queens, the krewes and the costumes, the parades and the people," but especially the costumes are featured -- gowns, robes, cassocks, dusters, kimonos, cloaks, and associated toggery -- with their massive medallions, feathered headdresses, giant collars, jeweled crowns, sequined masks, and impossibly long capes.

Once you accept the bizarre vibe of Mardi Gras, everything in the museum makes sense. Special attention is paid to Biloxi-specific traditions, such as the presentation of the Key to City to the Mardi Gras King and Queen at City Hall, and the artwork of Salvadore Navarro, "the most prolific float designer and builder of the first half of the twentieth century."