Mississippi Aquarium lights up the sails to celebrate Mardi Gras

As the sun went down this evening, the Mississippi Aquarium got into the carnival spirit.

For the second year in a row, the Mississippi Aquarium illuminated its sails in the traditional Mardi Gras colors to help usher in the carnival season.

Aquarium visitors and all those driving along Highway 90 can now check out the giant purple, green, and gold sails at dusk every night until Fat Tuesday.

There to help light up the sails was Mississippi Aquarium CEO and President Kurt Allen, Gulfport Carnival Association King Johnny Atherton, and a few of the aquarium’s resident penguins.

Although only in its second year of operation, the Mississippi Aquarium understands the significance of Mardi Gras to the people and culture here on the Coast. Allen said, “The three pillars that we have is education, conservation, and community. And again, we just want to support the community. And having Mardi Gras– everybody on the Coast celebrates Mardi Gras and it’s just another way to highlight what we do for the community. And showcase some pretty neat colors on the sails. So, it’s just a fun thing that we do.”

Atherton said, “We had to shelf Mardi Gras last year, as we had to do with a lot of things. So, I think people, as you’ve seen with other things that have happened whether it’s been football season or things that they couldn’t do like fly and travel, you see that there’s a lot more excitement than there used to be for getting back doing those type of things. And I think this Mardi Gras probably will be one of our best Mardi Gras’s because people have waited so patiently for it.”

To keep up on everything happening, including upcoming events like a possible coronation, follow the Mississippi Aquarium’s Facebook page.