DAPHNE, Ala. — Seven floats of Apollo’s Mystic Ladies maskers will roll down the streets of Daphne starting at 6:45 p.m. Feb. 25 — and kick off the Jubilee City’s Mardi Gras season.

The theme will be “Midnight Masquerade.” All floats will be decorated to match the theme and AML members will be dressed in costumes that match the theme of the float they are riding on.

“They are all different colors,” a founding member said, adding that each float will be largely composed of one color. She will be on the seventh float, where all riders will be dressed as butterfly maidens. “We have wings and we are going to be wearing lime green,” she said. The mystic society does not reveal its members’ identities for the media.

Parade-goers can expect to hear the Daphne and Spanish Fort High School bands and the McGuire bagpipe band. And, of course, they can expect some toys and treats. 

“Oh, gosh, we will be throwing lots of stuffed animals, lots of beads, Moon Pies, which come in all different kinds of flavors, cups and a lot of lit up things,” one member said. “Our signature throw is a blue crab stuffed animal because that goes in with our name. Our name came from the mythological Apollo running after Daphne.”

Queen Daphne XI, Terry Lees, will preside over the festivities.

Members of the organization are looking forward to taking to the streets this evening, but one member hopes the community can enjoy the parade as much as those riding on the floats will.

“We really want the community to come out and watch us because we put a lot of time and money into this,” she said.

The parade will begin and end at the Daphne Civic Center and snake down Scenic Highway 98. Barricades are already out in preparation for the parade.

A rain date is set for March 3 at 6:45 p.m.

The festivities will continue into the coming weeks as well. The organization will visit local nursing homes to share Mardi Gras with those who can’t make it to the parade.

“The queen goes — we all go in costume. We take beads and everything. Those are our sisters who couldn’t join back in their heyday because we weren’t around,” a member said.

About AML

The organization has 173 members, and is only open to women.

Apollo’s Mystic Ladies was founded in 2000 by a group of seven women. According to one member, the organization had enough members to fulfill its charter in just four early meetings. The organization can only have 200 members at any given time.

This year’s parade will be the organization’s 11th year, but only its 10th parade.

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