GALVESTON — It was all about the beads for Houston brothers Duncan and Ashton Lambert, ages 3 and 7.

Although beginners in the art of bead collecting, they nonetheless filled nearly three bags with them on Saturday.

Ashton, who is taller than his brother, caught them as they were being thrown from balconies in The Strand. The shorter Duncan was forced to ask people to throw directly to him — with mixed results.

“I accidentally got hit in the face, but I ended up with two strings of beads,” Ashton said, grinning.

He had his yellow raincoat on, the load of bling around his neck and a cute and determined look in his eye. Proud parents Scott and Kate Lambert, both Houston-area teachers, said the festivities were a blast for their family.

The relatively cloudless and warm day — which dipped into the 40s toward the evening — made Mardi Gras more comfortable for many.

As thousands upon thousands squeezed onto Galveston Island Saturday, the partiers capped off a celebration that typically attracts at least 250,000 a year, although no numbers were immediately available.

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Revelers wait for beads at Mardi Gras in Galveston.

Brian Distefano, director of marketing for the Galveston Park Board of Trustees, has said state officials at one point counted 50,000 more cars than usual.

The entire event itself was a parade of characters. A man walking with a woman on a Strand sidewalk kept accidentally poking her in the left eye with the droopy corner of his clown hat. The woman kept stopping and getting poked. The man kept apologizing. The two kept walking.

The Strand area was divided between mellow factions watching the fire dancing and listening to African rhythms and rowdier factions listening to rock ’n’ roll bands and diving for beads.

Police reported no serious incidents on Saturday. Officers said the two weekends of the event had gone smoothly.

There was food galore, carnival lights, lots of engines and much sound.

Fan favorites, such as Blue Oyster Cult and Better Than Ezra, performed for the crowds, as did the Bilge Pumps, Mambo Jazz kings, Frankie J, Adassa, Mark Mays, Paris Green and Toby Love.

The Z Krewe Procession entertained crowds about midday and the Momus Parade drew big crowds after dark. As the parade was about to start, one girl loudly remarked to everyone in sight,

“Hurry girls!” she said. “We’re going to miss the beads.”

Throughout Mardi Gras, young women continued to troll for beads by posing for young men with cellular phones.

They weren’t alone — everyone was scrambling for beads.

When asked why she was so frantic to get beads, Jennifer Cash, 28, from Lawton, Okla., couldn’t really give a lucid answer. She preferred not to dwell on the question.

“I really don’t have a clue,” she said. “I’m just having fun, I guess.”