UPDATE: According to an email sent Saturday night, MPD says the crowd count for Friday night’s parade was much lower than originally reported:

The crowd count for the Conde Cavaliers parade was 92,400–MPD

They initially reported a crowd size of 157,000

ORIGINAL STORY: MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Mobile was the place to be Friday night. The Mobile Police Department says 157,000 people attended the first Mardi Gras parade in the city in two years.

For context, Mobile Mask reports that the crowd size is 20,000 people larger than the biggest crowd from a parade in 2020.

According to a news release “Mobile Police responded to 21 complaints. There were four adults arrested on misdemeanor charges. One juvenile was arrested on a misdemeanor charge. A total of 86 parking citations were issued. There were 40 vehicles towed.”

As News 5’s Dana Winter reported Friday night, people were eager to get back to the carnival tradition:

For some, this first parade after a year off is their first Mardi Gras parade in general. Sandra came down to Mobile from West Virginia for her first Mardi Gras. She said, “We’d never done this before and it was just something new that we thought we’d like to try so here we are.”

For others, it’s a homecoming for a tradition they grew up watching. A woman said, “I was born and raised on Royal Street… This is awesome you know it was like we lost it for a year and it was like crazy and now we’re back.”