From rhinestones to shells, discover how the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s premier ladies’ Super Krewe is transforming Mardi Gras with glitter, sisterhood, and high-energy tradition.
Rhinestone & Glitter, Sequins & Shells…all illuminated in a magical night of Mermaid Opulence, the Krewe of Salacia will once again shine on Downtown Biloxi on Valentine’s Day, February 14th with the Krewe of Neptune Night Parade beginning at 5:30p!!
Founded in 2017 by Coast Observer owner, Cheli Strumila, and modeled after the Super Krewes of New Orleans, Muses & Nyx, Salacia’s Inaugural introduction to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Mardi Gras Parades was in 2018. Since then, the Krewe of Salacia has without a doubt left their mark on Mardi Gras Festivities with crowds of fans making signs and screaming “Throw me a decorated Bikini Top Salacia!!”
“I could’ve never dreamed when I put the post up on social media to see if there was an interest in creating a Super Krewe like Muses & Nyx on the coast that there would’ve been such an overwhelming response with so many interested,” stated Ms Strumila. “I had been in & attended Ball Krewes throughout the years but there weren’t any “Parading Ladies Krewes” that I was aware of in Biloxi, Ocean Springs or Gulfport at that time other than Marching Ladies Krewes and at St Patrick’s parade the Chili Peppers. After the Balls I always felt left out of Mardi Gras as anything other than a spectator. My best friend Mary Cracchiolo introduced me to Muses and Nyx in New Orleans, and I absolutely fell in love with the entire concept!! Catching my 1st Nyx’s Purse was the Most Magical Moment of Mardi Gras I’d Ever Experienced!!”
Seeing so much interest from ladies not only from the Mississippi Gulf Coast but also from states as far as Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, & Louisiana, Cheli began to research and teach herself everything she could about parading, throws, floats, costumes, etc. With the help of her Krewe of Neptune brothers, Kenny Beverin & Gerald Everett, giving her advice and direction for setting up the krewe, Cheli searched for the perfect mythology name for this New Super Krewe.
“As I searched mythology, I came across Salacia and was absolutely shocked that in all the years of mardi gras no other krewe had ever chosen the Goddess of the Sea, Neptune’s Wife, we’re a beach community and no one had chosen to be the Goddess of the Sea and the beautiful story that goes along with it, but I thought to myself, it was meant to be!!”
Salacia (mythology)
In ancient Roman mythology, Salacia was the female divinity of the sea, worshipped as the goddess of salt water who presided over the depths of the ocean. She was the wife and queen of Neptune, God of the sea and water.
The god Neptune wanted to marry Salacia, but she was in great awe of her distinguished suitor, and to preserve her virginity, with grace and celerity she managed to glide out of his sight and hid from him in the Atlantic Ocean. The grieving Neptune sent a dolphin to look for her and persuade the fair nymph to come back and share his throne. Salacia agreed to marry Neptune and the King of the Deep was so overjoyed at these good tidings that the dolphin was awarded a place in the heavens.
Salacia was the personification of the calm and sunlit aspect of the sea. Derived from Latin sal, meaning “salt”, the name Salacia denotes the wide, open sea, and is sometimes literally translated to mean sensational.
A Goddess of Salt Water and the Wife of Neptune, there is no better divinity than Salacia, to represent this Krewe of Fabulous Ladies of our community!!
With the name of Salacia, what goes more perfectly with a Goddess of the Sea and a beach community than a Bikini Top, so the Decorated Bikini Top became the Signature Throw of the Krewe of Salacia like Muses has shoes and Nyx has purses!!
If you’ve been lucky enough to catch one of these beautiful Salacia Bikini Tops, you not only know how Special it is to catch one, but you can tell how much creativity and attention to detail each of the members put into decorating each one!! Lots of bling, glitter, rhinestones, fringe, sequins, shells, artistic design and so much more!! They’re absolute works of art and collector’s items!!
“We have a bikini top picture day every year before our parade where we take individual pics of each of the bikini tops our Salacia’s have decorated so we can create a special folder for them on our Krewe of Salacia public facebook page. I’m blown away every year at the incredible creativity and talent each of our Salacias put into each Decorated Bikini Top!!’ stated Ms Strumila, “If you are lucky enough to catch a Salacia Decorated Bikini Top, make sure you look for the card inside and come to our Krewe of Salacia public facebook page, look for the album of the name on the card and inside her album will be the bikini top you caught!! Let her know you caught it!! It’s our way of being interactive with our fans even after the parade has ended!! & we love seeing how excited our fans are to catch our bikini tops!!
The Krewe of Salacia is approaching their 8th Year and in that time they have built a huge following of fans from not only the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but fans are coming from Florida, Texas, Louisiana and as far as Missouri and Tennessee. Not only are their fans coming from other states, but their membership has as well.
“Due to the fact that we Parade 1 weekend a year, it has made it very easy not only for those locally, but also those from out of state who want to be a part of Mardi Gras to be a part of Salacia!! No weekly dance rehearsals, no drama, just fun fun fun is our motto!! Of course we host local socials, special events, charity events, but our members can be as active in the krewe as they like!! We don’t monopolize all of their time but do give them a sisterhood they can join in on at any time!!”
“Every year we put posts up telling our fans to make signs to give them a better chance of us seeing them from the float,” Cheli tells us, “It always is so magical for us to be parading and see so many creative homemade signs of our fans saying ‘Throw Me a Decorated Bikini Top Salacia! Many of them even post their signs on our facebook page to let us know to look for their signs. It makes all of our hard work so worth it to see our Fans so happy!!”
As popular as Salacia Decorated Bikini Tops are, they also have unique one of a kind throws only coming from the Salacia float. A Bikini top Medallion, light up Mermaid dolls, rhinestone & nautical bracelets, light up sea creatures, mermaid bubbles and so much more!! This year they’ll have 25 unique gifts to throw to the crowd. They’ll be posting all of their throws on their public Krewe of Salacia facebook page in the upcoming weeks as well as the albums of each of the members bikini tops, so make sure you go check out to see all the fabulous throws you can catch from the Krewe of Salacia this year!!
“What I love about most of our Salacia throws is they’re always something you want to catch and take home that you can use in your daily lives!! Waterproof phone cases, towel holders for your beach chair and so much more”
Congratulations to the Krewe of Salacia for Celebrating 8 Years of Glitter & Bling Mermaid Fabulousity!! As we now see more parading ladies krewes forming and many copying your look with the light up jackets, etc, you have to be so Proud that you were the Trendsetter that has now given birth to even more ladies getting involved in mardi gras parading to add even more sparkle and shine to Mardi Gra Fun!!
For those ladies who would like to be a Salacia or learn more about Salacia, visit their website at https://www.kreweofsalacia.com They now have early sign up available for their 2027 Parading Season!! Sign up by March 1, 2026 and $ave $100 Off Your Riding Membership! Payment plans available for as little as $100 per month that includes your membership and throws.
Also, stay tuned to Krewe of Salacia on their social media and website, Fans of Salacia will soon be able to sport some Salacia Swag that will help to get them even more noticed in the crowd!!
Laissez les bon temps roulez !!
