FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026 | 7-10 PM
Every room inside this historic landmark will hold an experience. From tarot card readings to sketch artsists and more, your encouraged to explore and enjoy! Tickets are $35 per person and include beer, wine, and two complimentary French 75 cocktails. A food truck will be available on-site.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
- 6:45 PM – GHF Member Welcome
- 7 PM – General Admission, Cirque La View Roving Entertainment, Hustlers Brass Band
- 8 PM – Hustlers Brass Band, Aerial & Silks Performance
- ALL NIGHT – Tarot Card Readings, Photo Booth, Indoor & Outdoor Entertainment, Sketch Artist, and More!
ATTIRE: Mardi Gras is all about dressing for a great time. We recommend something festive (costumes are always welcome), frivolous, and fun.
FEATURING
ABOUT THE 1859 ASHTON VILLA AND BETTIE BROWN
Built in 1859 by hardware merchant James Moreau Brown, Ashton Villa was the first private brick residence in Galveston and the first house ever built on Galveston’s main esplanade, Broadway Avenue. The Italianate mansion set the precedent for all the other grand mansions that followed. Named Ashton Villa after Mr. Brown’s wife, Rebecca Ashton Stoddard Brown, the house is the only antebellum house remaining today on Broadway. Three generations of the Brown family lived in Ashton Villa.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s oldest daughter, Miss Bettie, was born Rebecca Ashton Brown on February 18, 1855. Miss Bettie led a privileged life. She never married, choosing to pursue her love of painting and travel instead of housekeeping. She was a talented and accomplished painter, studying for a time under the Royal Court painter in Vienna, Austria. Miss Bettie traveled to Japan, Greece, Mexico, South America, and Europe. She made her first trip abroad in 1881. Sometime between 1893 and 1912, Bettie traveled to Japan. In 1898, she was a guest at a garden tea party in Vienna, hosted by the Viennese Emperor Franz Joseph. She rode a camel in Egypt to see the pyramids, and she sat on the steps of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii. In 1910, she toured Mexico, and her final trip was to Italy in the winter of 1911-1912. She had apartments in New York City and London. She enjoyed Italy, which she visited frequently, sometimes staying for months at a time. At home in Ashton Villa, Miss Bettie was known as a generous hostess who entertained frequently and lavishly. Miss Bettie inherited Ashton Villa and lived in the house until her death in 1920.
ABOUT GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) was formed as the Galveston Historical Society in 1871 and merged with a new organization formed in 1954 as a non-profit entity devoted to historic preservation and history in Galveston County. Over the last seventy years, GHF has expanded its mission to encompass community redevelopment, historic preservation advocacy, maritime preservation, museum development, and heritage tourism. GHF embraces a broader vision of history and architecture that encompasses advancements in environmental and natural sciences and their intersection with historic buildings and coastal life, and continues to lead on local, state, and national levels with research-driven programs that build awareness of preservation’s role in cultural identity and stewardship across generations.
