How it all began
When the City of Galveston looked to expand the Mardi Gras festivites to two weeks, Larry Del Papa and Budweiser stepped up to produce the anchor parade for that second weekend of parading. Larry Del Papa's vision of exciting themes and costumes have been the basis of the fabulous parades as King Gambrinus Lights Up the Night.
Parading in Galveston
From vision to over 25 years of celebration and frivolity supporting the wonderful Island of Galveston, the Krewe of Gambrinus continues to parade down the famous Seawall Blvd, thrilling 300,000 of our closest friends. The parade runs from Seawall & 57th Street to Rosenberg Avenue (25th Street), turning north on Rosenberg to Ship's Mechanic Row and proceeds through the fabulous Strand Entertainment District.
From Vision to Reality
The Krewe today
From its humble beginning as the Krewe of Brew, the Krewe of Gambrinus is over 300 members strong and continues to celebrate the Mardi Gras season with traditional events like an extravagant coronation ball, den party and brew-ha-ha. Each member rides on a float for the parade and participates in parties and events throughout the year. We are the biggest close-knit family in Texas!
We are also known as the largest, family friendly parade in Galveston. Our costumed riders compete to have the best representation of the annual theme; as well as, entertaining our spectators.
Organization
The Krewe of Gambrinus is a not-for-profit organization chartered to support tourism and underprivileged children and elderly in Galveston, Harris and surrounding counties. Krewe members support the community by throwing Mardi Gras parties at local nursing homes and supporting the Brown Santa program of the Sheriffs Department, among others.