Apalachicola Mardi Gras Barkus Parade & Street Festival
February 21, 2025 - February 22, 2025
The Mystic Krewe of Salty Barkers will be celebrating Mardi Gras Apalach-style bigger and better than ever this year, with two days of fun. The celebration includes a lively street festival and of course the 14th Annual Mardi Gras Pet Parade. This event, taking place on Friday and Saturday, February 21 and 22, 2025 in Apalachicola, FL, will celebrate dogs and their people. All visitors and their furry friends are invited to join this paw-some event.
The theme for the 2025 event is “Game of Bones – the Canine Kingdom Rules”. It will be tail-wagging fun to journey into an imaginary world of canines and castles. Parading pups and their people will be wearing costumes inspired by the noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms. Guests can expect regal kings and queens, magicians, brave knights, rogues, lots of daring dragons, and a mystical creature or two. The creativity and spirit guests bring to this spectacle of sword and sorcery will be a sight to see.
New this year, the festivities kick off with an exciting day of fun and frivolity on Friday, February 21, from 2:00 to 8:00 pm ET. Guests can enjoy the Fido-Do, an old-fashioned Mardi Gras street event. Highlights of Friday’s activities include street entertainment, an adopters reunion, live music, a beer and wine garden featuring local craft brews, costume and decorating contests, dragon relay races, and a live auction.
On Saturday, February 22, 2025, the festivities will run from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm ET at Apalachicola’s Riverfront Park. While strolling through the park, guests enjoy live music, street entertainers, and more than 40 local vendors offering a variety of food and arts and crafts to enjoy. Saturday’s parade of decorated golf carts, boats, floats, and walkers – both the four-legged and two-legged kind – begins at 1:00 pm ET. The parade of costumed dogs and their people kicks off at Riverfront Park and winds through town, ending back at the park where the party will continue with all kinds of raucous fun. Registration is $5 for walkers, $25 for golf carts, and $50 for floats. Canine companions, of course, are free.
The parade isn’t just for fun; it’s also for a good cause. The Mystic Krewe of Salty Barkers is partnering with local animal rescues to raise awareness and funds for animals in need. Not only will attendees have a great time, but they will also be making a difference for injured animals and those looking for their forever homes. The King and Queen of Apalachicola’s Mardi Gras parade are always shelter animals who are ready for a forever home. As always, they will have a place of honor in the parade.
View more events at FloridasForgottenCoast.com