“I couldn’t sleep because I heard kids playing in my yard. I got up and hollered at ’em. They went to cryin’. I felt pretty small. It was Mardi Gras Day, so I said, ‘Y’all come on. We’re going to have Mardi Gras.’ I put on a mask, put the kids in the back of my truck, and bought us some Moon Pies to throw around the neighborhood. I can’t believe it’s been thirteen years since this became a parade. My daughter still makes us do it.” 

Rev. Brian Faust

“We were brought up at Mardi Gras in Mobile; my mother and grandmother didn’t miss a parade. I became their caregiver when their health started failing and took them to the parades, even when I wheeled them there in wheelchairs. One day, I looked out the window and saw Dad and some kids throwing Moon Pies to our Daphmont neighbors. Bringing a parade here seemed like a good idea. I could just wheel my mother and grandmother outside so they could be comfortable and enjoy Mardi Gras.

The first year, a couple of us decorated a trailer, a golf cart, and a 4-wheeler for our makeshift parade. More people wanted to do it the next year: the more the merrier.  It’s become a homecoming with people grilling, frying fish, and cooking seafood. Some neighbors put signs in their yards meaning come on in and celebrate; we go from house to house. The parade keeps growing, and a few people rent floats. Dad is the Originator, so he rides first. Our parade is now listed on the Daphne events page. That blows my mind. 

It means a lot to bring Mardi Gras back to the people who used to enjoy it. The people I work with or went to school with call me Dehavelin, but everyone in Daphmont calls me ‘Boo.’ Our Daphmont neighborhood is a family that looks after each other. If you live long enough, you’ll be and need someone to help you.

I’ve been in this house all of my life.  My grandmother’s house was next door. She had chickens, ducks, a pond, and a garden. Mama made cakes off those duck eggs. We had so much right here. My dad bought the land next door for family gatherings: he nicknamed it ‘The Ponderosa.’ Dad was a minister for 50 years–I’m a preacher’s kid. I went to church so much that I said I was never coming back when I got big. I strayed for a little while, but when you’re brought up in the church, you can’t go far. 

I lost my brother in 2022, my grandmother in 2023, and my mother in 2024. I was in a dark place losing them, but I had strong support from my family and neighbors. Life is life. If you live, you’re going to die. We’re never prepared; we just have to keep going. Dust ourselves off and care for each other while we’re still here.”

Dehavelin (Boo)

Rev. Faust cooking crabs after the parade)

Dehavelin getting throws ready