Come for Spanish Royal Visit,
Stay for Mardi Gras

King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain will bring a touch of majesty to Pensacola's yearlong 450th anniversary celebration on Feb. 19 to help celebrate the founding of one of North America's first major European settlements. The royal visit is an apt beginning to Pensacola's Mardi Gras celebration. Three annual Mardi Gras parades will fill the streets on Feb. 20-22 as revelers, some no doubt bedecked as faux royalty, celebrate Carnival. It's a special time. Come celebrate with us.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, Feb. 19 - King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía will address the crowd gathered in Downtown Pensacola at Plaza Ferdinand at noon from the balcony of the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum. Plaza Ferdinand was named in 1781 for the King of Spain. Spectators are asked to be in the park by 11:15 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 20 - At 8 p.m., the Krewe of Lafitte, Pensacola's hometown pirates, hosts their annual illuminated Mardi Gras parade in historic Downtown Pensacola. Visitors can join with throngs of locals to welcome in the Mardi Gras weekend by snagging beads, doubloons and bountiful treats.

Saturday, Feb. 21 - Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade, the city's biggest and most popular parade, pushes off through Downtown Pensacola at 2 p.m. The two-hour parade features the area's best-known krewes. The crowd is invited to follow the costumed revelers to Seville Quarter entertainment complex for more fun.

Sunday, Feb. 22 - The Krewe of Wrecks invades Pensacola Beach at 2 p.m. With the Gulf of Mexico and its sugar-white sands as the backdrop, this final parade is our way of saying goodbye to one of the most festive weekends of the year.

Pensacola and Spain: A Look Back

In 1559, Spanish sailor Don Tristan de Luna sailed into Pensacola Bay to establish one of the first major European settlements in North America. A hurricane and lost supplies eventually doomed the settlement, and within a few years the explorers had fled.

In 1698, the Spanish returned and established Presidio Santa María de Galve, the first permanent settlement in Northwest Florida. Except for a short period under the French in 1719, Spain remained in control of West Florida for much of the next century.

The British took control of West Florida in 1763 but the Revolutionary War returned it to Spain in 1781.

Spanish West Florida became part of the United States in 1821 when General Andrew Jackson accepted the transfer from Spain in Pensacola's Plaza Ferdinand.