News

Color, rhythm, revelry: Asheville Mardi Gras gears up for 2026 parade

Color, rhythm, revelry: Asheville Mardi Gras gears up for 2026 parade

The 2026 Asheville Mardi Gras parade will culminate with an after-party at the Wicked Weed Funkatorium. Photo: Saga Communications/Pruett Norris


ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville Mardi Gras is prepared to party as the schedule is set for the 2026 Mardi Gras parade. This year, the celebration will kick off on Sunday, Feb. 15 in the South Slope district of downtown Asheville.

The Asheville Mardi Gras parade will begin at 3:05 p.m., followed by an after-party, “The Queen’s Ball,” from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at the Wicked Weed Funkatorium.

Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the good times roll!

This year, the party theme is “Life is a Carnival,” featuring “dazzling costumes, lively music and the joyful traditions of Carnival — bringing a taste of New Orleans straight to the mountains,” Asheville Mardi Gras wrote in a press release.

The parade and “The Queen’s Ball” afterparty will both be free and open to the public.

“This celebration is about community, creativity and joy,” said a representative of Asheville Mardi Gras in the release. “We’re thrilled to invite locals and visitors alike to come out, dress up and celebrate Mardi Gras Asheville-style.”

Find more details at www.ashevillemardigras.org.

Read more. . .

Recent Headlines

49 minutes ago in Entertainment, Music

New Beatles fan experience set to open in London in 2027

Fresh

The Beatles are headed back to one of the band's most famous sites with a new fan experience in London. Apple Corps Ltd, the company founded by the Fab Four, announced Monday that it will open a new seven-floor fan experience at the company's early headquarters.

1 hour ago in Sports, Trending

2026 NFL schedule: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants is Week 1 Sunday night game

Fresh

The Dallas Cowboys are set to visit the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game of the 2026 NFL season on Sept. 13. The league on Monday announced the Week 1 matchup of NFC East rivals at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

3 days ago in Lifestyle, Trending

Olivia and Liam top the list of most popular US baby names for the seventh year running

Olivia and Liam for a seventh year in a row topped the list of names for babies born in the United States in 2025. The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state, with lists dating back to 1880.

3 days ago in Arts & Culture, Community, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Local, Outdoors, Perspectives

Montford Park Players put on a wonderful, wonderful, ‘Wonderful Wizard of Oz’

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is not the musical, but it is not the L. Frank Baum book, either. The Montford Park Players show is another wonderful thing entirely. Read our review for more.

3 days ago in Entertainment

Blake Lively’s lawyers fuel feud with claim of victory after ‘It Ends With Us’ settlement

The bitter public feud between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni may outlive their court fight after all. Three days after announcing a settlement of the lawsuit brought by Lively over the 2024 film "It Ends With Us," her lawyers put out a statement Thursday calling the deal a "resounding victory."