Esdella Vie
I had no idea Galveston did their own festivities, though I really should have. o 3o We always go to the ones in Port Arthur, the parade is free to attend, I think even the carnival had free admission. (though I'm not sure about it, we just go for a parade. xD )
I believe the reason they started to charge was because Galveston was dead broke after being hit by Ike. I'm assuming you know the area to some extent, but I drove to Galveston a couple of months after that, and it was still a mess in some of the poorer areas, and it was dead compared to every other time I had been there. I think they realized that they didn't have the money to put all of the cops on overtime and get a massive clean up crew, haha.
But there are like 2 different parades and carnivals. The ones during the day are very child friendly and free. The ones at night are all about getting drunk and naked. Yeah. I got danced on by a naked guy...as a human being and a lesbian, I was grossed out, haha, he was not a good looking guy, and lacking in the lower regions. XD
Maybe I've just had a bad experience, but it was trashy and not fun. I would rather go to the ones during the day, but I have stuff to do during the day, and I don't want to drive an hour and a half there. XD