One of Mobile Mardi Gras’ most distinctive societies is recruiting: the Conde Explorers, the port city’s only integrated carnival krewe, are still signing up riders for the 2011 season.
A Short but Significant History
The society made history in 2005 when it became the first integrated Mardi Gras organization to parade in downtown Mobile. It gained wider recognition through its appearance in The Order of Myths, the documentary examining race and tradition in Mobile’s carnival culture. Today the krewe counts about a hundred members and welcomes men and women of all races — a cross-section of Mobilians that runs from police officers to doctors to attorneys. Members of historic “Old Mobile” parades, both black and white, ride alongside them.
Beyond the parade season, the Conde Explorers hold a ball and several parties through the year, and members put in volunteer hours across the community.
How to Ride
Dues are kept deliberately inexpensive — and as the society likes to note, throws can come straight out of your attic. The krewe parades on Route A in downtown Mobile on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m., with its ball following the parade.
Prospective riders can reach the society through condeexplorers.org or by contacting president Terrence Bridges.