February 27, 1827.<br />Groups of masked students danced in the streets, marking the beginnings of the city's Mardi Gras celebrations.<br />The Mardi Gras celebration was brought to the region by French settlers towards the end of the 1600s.<br />By the time students in New Orleans danced in the streets in costumes and masks the celebration of Carnival had been popular in Mobile, AL, for more than 100 years.<br />The New Orleans student celebrations were inspired by their Paris studies.<br />Within five years, a French plantation owner had begun raising money to fund the celebration.<br />The first fully organized Mardi Gras occurred in 1857.
