DAPHNE, Ala.—When one hears “Mardi Gras,” thoughts of parades, loud music and, sometimes, less than socially acceptable carnival behavior can come to mind.

But at The Gardens of Daphne assisted-living facility Monday, there were no parades, no guests hollering for necklaces. Instead, residents Bobby Bolton and Pearl Kubicki were crowned in the center’s day room, whose decorations were fit for a king—and queen.

All the facility’s residents cast votes for their royalty.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been a king,” said Bolton, crowned with gold lamme, wielding a plastic scepter.

“We’re all one family here,” said Kubicki, who will ensure that residents maintain common ground during her royal tenure, which ends with next Mardi Gras season.

“We try to work together; we haven’t had any big fights—yet,” she said.

Teamwork is especially helpful when it can foster goodwill amid an influx of new residents.

“We have several new residents here that families have brought down from up north that have never experienced Mardi Gras here on the Gulf Coast,” administrator Trudi Hume said. “It’s a wonderful learning experience.”

“I think it’s a nice gesture,” Bolton said, smiling while resting on an oversized, ribbon-draped chair.

The ceremony featured festive jazz music and seasonal delicacies like king cake, butter-pecan ice cream and punch.

“Oh yeah, it’s a very happy day,” Malcolm Barter, a resident, said of the festivities.

The facility’s Mardi Gras celebration is not limited to Monday’s king and queen ceremony.

Residents are treated annually to a procession of mystic societies that revel in the traditional holiday fervor.

“The Apollo(’s) Mystic Ladies and the Mystic Order of Persephone will come in and pay their respects to our king and queen,” Hume said.

Carnival continues…

The following, upcoming parades snake down Main Street, unless otherwise noted.