This Saturday in Gulfport: Geckos and Mardi Gras.
We should stop there, really, but in case you aren't hip to all things Gulfport, allow us to tell you about Gecko Season, which lasts for about six weeks in late summer. Festivities include gecko art, a gecko festival, gecko drinking, gecko parades. Because, as one Facebook page suggests, Gulfport.
The full title of the festival and surrounding gecko-oqity is the "Gecko Fest and Mullet Mutiny" but over the years, the Gulfport Merchants Association shortened it to "GeckoFest" and the Gulfport Historical Society has taken up the mullet mantle. And no, Gulfport doesn't have any more gecko-type creatures than anywhere else in Florida. It's just what they do, and they do it well.
It also includes a Gecko Ball, which comes complete with its own theme, which changes from year to year. This year's theme? Gecko Gras. Expect Mardi Gras, Gulfport-style, which may be the only place you can see a Mardi Gras celebration more extreme than you'll see in New Orleans.
The ball, held in the Gulfport Casino (5500 Shore Boulevard South, Gulfport), takes place Saturday, August 29 from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. It is during this pageantry of Mardi Gras meets Gulfport meets Gecko Season that Gulfport will crown its new Gecko Queen. The ball also includes tapas from Ricky P's Orleans Bistro, a cash bar, and enough visual stimulation to last all year.
Tickets cost $35, and a few remain at Gulfport Beach Bazaar. If you miss your chance to get tickets, hang out across the street at Neptune Grill's bar and costume watch. The later it gets, the livelier things get. Because, you know, Gulfport.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2015.
