Dig out your most flamboyant feathered mask, toss on your flashiest plastic beads, don your most outlandish outfit and head to one of two Mardi Gras masquerade balls bringing a taste of the Big Easy to Portland on Saturday night.
“It’s supposed to be a little bit crazy,” said Amy Safford of Community Partners Inc., which is organizing a fundraising party at Port City Music Hall that’s co-sponsored by The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. “If you want to wear a chartreuse jacket, by all means go ahead.”
Additional Photos
But do make sure you wear a jacket — if you’re a guy, that is. The event is semiformal, and women are expected to wear cocktail dresses or gowns.
The dress code is a little looser at the party taking place in the Eastland Park Hotel’s grand ballroom, but masks and beads will be the night’s required look. This party benefits Portland’s Cathedral School, a Catholic day school.
Both parties feature buffet dinners followed by dancing.
Over at Port City, dinner will be served at 8 p.m. and will feature crawfish etouffee, vegetarian jambalaya, chicken, shrimp and andouille jambalaya, vegetarian dirty rice, Cajun salad and king cake.
Party guests will be entertained by the sideshow antics of the Dark Follies, a performance troupe often seen juggling and bellydancing on the streets of Portland.
“We want it to have a carnival atmosphere of controlled chaos,” Safford said.
During cocktails between 6 and 8 p.m., the Port City party serves up the jazz and blues sounds of Papa Roux. At 9 p.m., the Delta Knights take the stage and get everyone’s feet moving to traditional New Orleans-style music.
Meanwhile at the Eastland, dinner will be served at 6 p.m. The meal will include chicken gumbo, Cajun fried catfish, Cajun shrimp Creole, red beans and rice, candied yams and apples, and pecan pie.
The cocktail of choice will be the Hurricane, the signature drink of New Orleans, and commemorative glasses will be available for purchase.
Early in the evening at the hotel, revelers can nominate the most regal members of their party to serve as the Mardi Gras king and queen.
“We’re going to do it Louisiana-style, so you’ll buy votes,” said Robert Witkowski, who is co-chairing the event.
It will cost $1 per vote to win the coveted crown.
“The king and queen will get their robes, crowns and scepters,” Witkowski said. “If they know each other, they can lead off the first dance, or they can just preside over it from afar.”
The dancing at the Eastland starts at 7 p.m., when Robert Sylvain and The Cajun Aces crank up their bayou beat.
Other activities to look forward to include a silent auction at Port City and a Heads to Tails contest at the Eastland, where you can buy special beads and if you’re the last one standing, you’ll walk out with an iPad.
“Mardi Gras is a great time for people to blow off steam,” Witkowski said. “Its original intent was to blow off steam before Lent.
“But up here, we all need to blow off steam before the snow melts.”
Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at:
akamila@pressherald.com
Follow her on Twitter at:
Twitter.com/AveryYaleKamila
Send questions/comments to the editors.
