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DAPHNE, Ala. — Thousands of residents braved the freezing temperatures last weekend to catch the final parades of Daphne’s Mardi Gras season.

With snow falling earlier on Friday, and temps still hovering around freezing, around 700 people gathered on Main Street to see the Mystic Order of Persephone parade.

“I am so cold right now but … I got a lot of treats,” Andrew Brewer, of Seminole, said, while blowing steam into his hands. “It’s worth it, freezing out here. It’s always a fun scene no matter the weather.”

Stephanie Gilbert, of Orange Beach, agreed.

“I don’t care if it’s a blizzard. I was going to catch this parade,” she said, holding her very bundled-up 2-year-old, Marie. “This is her first Mardi Gras and I know we’ll remember it fondly.”

Parade guests were thrown traditional Mardi Gras fare, including Moon Pies, beaded necklaces and plastic cups.

The order was founded in 2000 by a group of Daphne residents who were members of Mobile-based mystic orders; their Web site says the order saw a need to form their own Eastern Shore-based mystic society.

The sky stayed clear on Saturday making way for Shadow Barons to parade on schedule.

Temperatures were still freezing but that didn’t keep approximately 2,500 residents from attending the celebration.

The order’s theme of “The Greatest Show on the Shore” was on display as floats featured clowns and circus performers throwing beaded jewelry, doubloons and Moon Pies to excited parade attendees.

“It’s so cold but we’re having so much fun, it’s worth it,” Anthony Rowlands, of Orange Beach said. “We brought the family tonight because we were seeing friends in Daphne. It’s a treat for all of us.”

Rowlands’ daughter Janie, 6, was in attendance at her second Shadow Barons parade.

“I went last year and had fun,” she said, while twirling an orange beaded necklace. “But last year was warmer.”

David Morgan, of Fairhope, brought extra layers to keep bundled up while catching his share of Moon Pies and beads.

“We brought two blankets for each of us and we all have on long underwear,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to feel your hands if you’re going to catch anything.”

This year’s parade featured two floats built at the order’s recently constructed 12,000-square-foot warehouse on Milton Jones Road.

One was a “new, improved much better lit emblem float,” a spokesperson said. Mardi Gras members traditionally do not reveal their identities for media interviews in the swing of the season. The other float — a ghost ship led by the order’s mascot, Baron de Ferriet — included an added feature this year. The baron was accompanied by a live cannon that shot smoke clouds approximately 35 feet in the air.

De Ferriet, the order’s namesake, was donned in traditional French military attire, as were fellow order members. A career officer in French general Napoleon Bonaparte’s military, the baron was stationed along the Gulf Coast from 1792-1815.

On Sunday, the weather was comfortable with temps warming to allow about 1,500 residents to catch the Loyal Order of the Fire Truck parade as it rounded out the weekend’s festivities with its annual procession down Main Street.

Starting at May Day Park, and snaking its way down Old County Road and through Olde Towne Daphne, the parade was met with an eager crowd that had lined the streets in anticipation.

“We didn’t come Friday or Saturday because of the weather,” Anthony Cooper, of Foley, said of he and his family. “We usually come to all three (Daphne parades) each year but today was the first day this weekend where we actually wanted to go out.”

Michael Cooper, 6, was glad the weather remained agreeable so he could practice his catching techniques.

“This is my favorite one,” he said of the Loyal Order parade. “I like catching the candy and eating it.”