Despite cold winds and small crowds on Friday, February 2, the 2018 St. Andrews Mardi Gras Parade and Festival in Panama City, Florida finished big on Saturday, February 3, enjoying warmer weather and record crowds.
Estimates ranged from 50,000 to 60,000 attendees but at the end of the day, all could agree that there were a lot of people in Historic St. Andrews for the 21st anniversary of the event.
Over a million beads and other throws were tossed from floats, enjoyed by a diverse crowd, as seen in these festival photos taken prior to the parade, by Real Florida Media, a subsidiary of The Goulding Agency in Chipley, Florida.
‘Real Florida Magazine’ was invited to experience the event from a ‘behind-the-scenes’ vantage point, documenting the set up for the event, including security, vendor, crowd control and all that goes into this very large event.
Over 7,000 photos and hours of video were shot at the 2018 St. Andrews Mardi Gras, and here are some pre-parade photos. See more photos, inclusing the big parade, on Facebook at Real Florida Magazine, and listen to interviews with business owners, community leaders and event organizers on FPTC Radio, the voice of Florida Panhandle Technical College at www.FPTCRadio.com.
