x
  1. Home
  2.  News
  3.  Local News

Sixth annual Mardi Gras for a Cause takes place Feb. 13

| 01 Feb 2018 | 03:57
    Photo by Roger Gavan Backpack Snack Attack volunteer committee members meet with Adam Powers, owner of Fetch, a participating restaurant, to discuss the upcoming sixth annual Mardi Gras for a Cause on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Clockwise from left, Adam Powers, owner of Fetch Restaurant, volunteers Andrew and Jenna Price, John Desibia, volunteer event organizer, and Shirley Puett, director of Back Pack Snack Attack.
    Photo by Roger Gavan Backpack Snack Attack volunteer committee members meet with Adam Powers, owner of Fetch, a participating restaurant, to discuss the upcoming sixth annual Mardi Gras for a Cause on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Clockwise from left, Adam Powers, owner of Fetch Restaurant, volunteers Andrew and Jenna Price, John Desibia, volunteer event organizer, and Shirley Puett, director of Back Pack Snack Attack.

WARWICK — Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday and it's traditionally a time to celebrate and eat well before the season of Lent.
Although celebrated throughout the world, most people in the United States associate the event with the City of New Orleans.
But next Tuesday evening, Feb. 13, from 6 p.m. to midnight, the Village of Warwick will play host to its sixth annual Mardi Gras for a Cause.
Although there will be bangles, beads and prizes, the lavish costumes and parades may not be part of this event. But it will be a fun celebration nonetheless.
And once again, the Warwick Mardi Gras will be a fund raiser for BackPack Snack Attack.
The non-profit organization provides nutritional snacks to almost 300 needy school children each week of the school year. The program is run entirely by a group of volunteers and supported by donations and fund raising.
BackPack Snack Attack has no overhead and 100 percent of the donated money goes to food and backpacks for the children.
Six years ago, Mardi Gras for a Cause was dreamed up by a group of local musicians from Warwick who wanted to be able to celebrate the arts and the community.
The successful event was designed to provide a unique and memorable opportunity for people of all ages to come together and enjoy local live music along with food and drink specials while giving back to the community.
The restaurants make a donation to Backpack Snack Attack but they are not tied to how much they earn that night.
Last year's event raised more than $10,000, enough to fill 1,600 backpacks. And that brought the total of all Mardi Gras events to approximately $40,000.
"For the sixth consecutive year we are bringing the Rio and New Orleans Fat Tuesday Celebration to the Village of Warwick," said Shirley Puett, director of BackPack Snack Attack. "Everyone is invited and guests are encouraged to visit several locations during the evening."
Local restaurants that have agreed to participate in the event this year include Baird's Tavern, Blarney Station, Caffé a la Mode, Eddie's Roadhouse, Fetch, Grappa, Halligan's Pub, La Piazza, Village Billiards and Yesterdays.
Each restaurant will host musicians who will play for free beginning at 7 p.m. Food and drink specials begin at 6 p.m. Ticket drawing and winners will be announced at midnight.
Breakfast will also be served midnight at Fetch.
For additional information visit http://mardigrasforacause.com/ or Face Book https://www.facebook.com/WarwickMardiGras/
- Roger Gavan