Mardi Gras - Wooster Style

  • By Sharon Haught
  • February 8, 2010
  • 587
                        
Ask the average person to name the most famous party in the world and chances are one event will pop to the top of almost everyone’s list. Mardi Gras! MosaicConnection will bring the sounds, smells and sights of this traditional New Orleans celebration to Wooster when it hosts Mardi Gras 2010 Feb. 13, from 6-9 p.m., at the former NAPA Building, located at 120 Beall Avenue. According to MosaicConnection’s Melody Kirby, the idea behind Mardi Gras 2010 was to create “a festive event and another opportunity for families and individuals in the community to get out and enjoy some light-hearted fellowship and entertainment.” This free, family-friendly event will feature a wide variety of festive activities including carnival games, a court jester on stilts and a make-your-own mask craft table. Colorful costumes have long been a part of the Mardi Gras tradition so the group has included a costume/mask contest as part of the event. “We’d love people to come in costume, but this is not required,” said Kirby, noting that “the costume/mask contest will consist of participants who choose to sign up at the event before 7:30 p.m.” Because food plays such an important part in any Mardi Gras celebration, traditional Cajun style food – which, according to Kirby, has been toned down for the Ohio palate – will also be available, including black-eyed peas, Creole and sausage stew, corn bread, traditional King Cake, dirty rice and plenty of that southern favorite – ice tea. All of the food was donated and provided by the members of MosaicConnection. Mardi Gras wouldn’t be the same without music so live music will also be a part of the celebration. Wooster native, and longtime member of the local musical group Good Company, Paul Kopec, will be on hand to perform his unique style of jazz and blues. The event also features an exhibit by Jason Rakich, “a young local artist whose art has a New Orleans flair,” said Kirby. A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he lives and works in Wooster while building his artistic clientele. Kirby stated the event focuses on not only the normal festive atmosphere that surrounds Mardi Gras, but also its significance as a time for getting ready for the upcoming season of Lent. “Mardi Gras is a time of celebration, but it is also a time of preparation,” said Kirby. “Some historians say it is the day when one gets rid of all the rich foods and drink in their home which they plan to fast from during the time of Lent, hence the big holiday party atmosphere.” Just as Mardi Gras marks the final days before Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday signals the beginning of Holy Week and the days leading up to the celebration of Easter. To mark this solemn week, MosaicConnection will host an exhibit entitled the Journey of the Cross. According to Kirby, the exhibit will take visitors on a spiritual journey, as local area artists come together to create the 14 Stations of the Cross, representing the steps of Christ from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Cross. The exhibit will be open on Palm Sunday – March 28 – through Easter Sunday - April 4. The exhibit will also take place at the 120 Beall Avenue location. Exhibit hours will be posted on the organization’s Web site. Kirby noted that MosaicConnection is a volunteer organization funded entirely by private donations. For more information on the organization, visit their Web site at www.MosaicConnection.org.


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