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Green Sponsors ($100+)

(click on logo or link to visit our sponsors' websites)

American-French Genealogical Society, 78 Earle Street, Woonsocket, RI


John Boucher Real Estate Property Management, Inc., 600 Cass Avenue, Woonsocket, RI


The Call, 75 Main Street Woonsocket, RI


Cardi's Furniture,
with locations in Rhode Island (South Kingstown, West Warwick),
Massachusetts (Braintree, Hyannis, South Attleboro, Swansea)


1300 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI

Lorraine Cloutier, Woonsocket, RI

Frere Andre ACA Division of Arcanum courtesy of Julien Bessette

Ray Gaboury, Woonsocket, RI

Holiday Inn Express, 194 Fortin Drive, Woonsocket, RI

389 Old River Road, Manville, RI

Manville Sportsmen's Rod and Gun Club, 250 High Street, Manville, RI


246 Main Street, Milford MA  


Meet Thursdays at 12:15 PM

6 Blackstone Valley Place, Suite #204, Lincoln, RI


664 Front Street, Woonsocket, RI

Friends
(click on logo or link to visit our sponsors' websites)

Connie Anderson, 68 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI


Athena's Home Novelties, 640 Winter Street, Woonsocket, RI

Romeo & Diane Berthiaume, Uxbridge, MA

The Cakery, 91 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 

Carmella's Coiffures, 643 Saint Paul Street, North Smithfield, RI

Sharon Charette, North Smithfield, RI

Chez Monique Beauty Salon, 108 Harris Pond Road, Blackstone, MA


Coachmen's Lodge, 273 Wrentham Road, Bellingham, MA (508) 883-9888

10 Nate Whipple Highway, Cumberland, RI  

Ralph Coppola, Warwick, RI

Cumberland House of Pizza, 2360 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI 02864-3708, (401) 658-2626

53 Federal Street,Woonsocket, RI

175 Eddie Dowling Highway, North Smithfield, RI

Eggs Up Family Restaurant, 2378 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI

1850 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI

Sue Tessier MacKenzie, Seasonal Sweets, Woonsocket, RI


2130 Mendon Road # 4, Cumberland, RI

Museum of Work and Culture, 42 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI

Walnut Hill Plaza, 1500 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI

MARDI GRAS QUEEN CORONATION

The regal event will be held at The Cakery, operated by Sarah Gauvin, at 91 Main Street, Woonsocket on the Sunday before this year's Mardi Gras celebration. The fair maidens of the area will gallantly sell raffle tickets to add gold to the coffers to offset the cost of the city’s Mardi Gras celebration, which originated in 1954 and was renewed in 1995 by The Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts. Though all worked valiantly, alas there can only be one queen. All are looking forward to meeting their subjects on February 11th at the Mardi Gras Celebration, to be held at the CYO Center and St. Ann's Art and Cultural Center in Woonsocket.

This year's contestants: Photos taken by Judith Potter Photography
	2012 Mardi Gras Queen JACKIE BOUDREAU was a resident of Woonsocket for many years before moving to North Smithfield. She has been employed at CVS Pharmacy in Human Resources for 23 years. She is a member of the Woonsocket Health & Racquetball Club and Shape Up Rhode Island. Jackie's special interests are event planning and coordinating drives for the United Way and the R. I. Blood Center. Her hobbies are traveling, exercising and gardening. She enjoys being a grandmother and spending time with her family. Jackie has attended many Council of the Arts functions including the Mardi Gras Balls and would like to be Mardi Gras Queen to help fund what she feels is an excellent cause in the community. She is married to Rene Boudreau and mother of Jason Levreault of Handen, Ct. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jean Bileau of Woonsocket.
2012 Mardi Gras Princess EMILY FORTE has resided in Cumberland for 30 years and recently moved to Albion where she now resides. She has been a very familiar face at Eggs Up Restaurant in Cumberland for 18 years plus. Some of the things she enjoys doing are baking, cooking, reading, music, being with family and friends and working out as a member of Fore Court Fitness and Racquetball Club. She has been involved in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society doing her first Triathlon in NYC and also raised money for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk. Emily was very flattered to be recommended as a contestant in the Mardi Gras Queen Contest and said it will be a lot of fun to be involved, socialize and raise money for the Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts to keep this cultural event in the community. She is the mother of two beautiful daughters, Alicia and AnnMarie who reside in Cumberland.
	2012 Mardi Gras Princess AINSLEY MORISSEAU CANTORAL is a proud resident of Woonsocket where she has lived on and off her whole life. Prior to moving back to the City in 2009, she attended RI College and lived in Texas for two years where she received her graduate degree from Texas A&M University. Moving back to Rhode Island to work in the nonprofit sector, she joined NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley (NWBRV) in 2008 to convene a national pilot program called "Our Neighborhoods". In her free time, Ainsley works with the National Heritage Corridor, volunteers for the United Way Young Leaders Circle, participates in the RI Foundation's Emerging Leaders Mentor Program and serves as a 2007 class representative and regional rep for her alumni network at Texas A&M. Her hobbies include sewing, reading, learning Spanish and spending time with her new husband and their two dogs.
The Queen and Her Court at the Coronation: Emily Forte, Jackie Boudreau, Ainsley Morisseau Cantoral
The Queen and Her Court at the Mardi Gras Ball: Ainsley Morisseau Cantoral, Jackie Boudreau, Emily Forte
ARIANNA CIOSEK resides in Cumberland and is presently employed as a graphic designer at Summer Infant in Woonsocket. She also works as a waitress at Ciro's Tavern on Cherry St. and Bucci's Breakfast Place in Albion. She belongs to Club 11 at Diamond Hill vineyards and has volunteered for the March of dimes. Her favorite interest is the dart league and has won an award for being #1 in total percentage overall in games in the Fall of 2010 and 2011. Arianna is presently taking classes at RISD in continuing education for graphic design. She is also creative in designing wedding invitations, save-the-dates and calligraphy. Her hobbies are skiing, dancing, karaoke and arts. She would like to be Mardi Gras Queen to help the Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts continue bringing cultural events to our community as they have done for so many years.
	MICHELLE ANNE COUCHON is a resident of North Smithfield and is employed as a security officer for R. I. Bureau of Investigation in Providence.  She is a longstanding member of Ocean State Baptist Church in Smithfield.  Michelle is author of the self-help book "I Will Fear No Evil", former journalist for Woonsocket.Patch and the Christian Newspaper "The Good News Today".  She is currently working on her second novel.  She enjoys exercise, outdoor sports and spending time with her children.  She would like to be Mardi Gras Queen to participate in a fund raiser and become involved in the community.  Michelle and her husband, Chris, are parents of two children, CJ, age 15 and Sydney, age 10.
CHANDLER MADISON CROSS is a graduating senior at Mount St. Charles Academy and works part time as a singer at TheFudgery at the Wrentham Mall Outlet in Wrentham, MA. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Mt. St. Charles Glee Club, Senior Choir, lead singer/band with SAVID, Senior Drama Club and "Paramount" Acapella Singing Group. Chandler has been performing since she was 4 years old and was a Hollywood finalist 2011 American Idol. She is interning at Providence Performing Arts Center with Disney Touring Co. of "Mary Poppins" and recently performed at Frozen Fenway Park 2012. Her special interests and hobbies are singing, song writing, playing guitar and the performing arts. She would like to be Queen of the Mardi Gras because NRICA is a great supporter of the arts and community and wants to help achieve their goals and continued support of the community. She resides in Woonsocket with her parents, Charles and Sharon Cross, has one brother, Barclay Close and grandmother, Barbara Cross.
	TINA RIVARD is a partner in a specialty shop on Main Street in Woonsocket. She has worked in the food and beverage industry for more than 20 years and decided to shift her career to dealing in antiques. She enjoys reading and helping the less fortunate. Tina was a contestant in last year's Mardi Gras Queen Contest and wanted to run again because she is a strong supporter of the arts and would like to help NRICA continue to make Mardi Gras one of Woonsocket's major events. She and her husband Michael reside in Woonsocket and are parents of five children; Christopher, Matthew, Kathryn, Jacob and Tyler and grandparents of Madison and Nicholas.

The Queen's Coronation was held at
The Cakery, 91 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI
Sunday, February 5th, 1 pm

Raffle Prizes:

1st Prize: $300

2nd Prize: Overnight Stay at the Holiday Inn Express
3rd: Prize: Gift Certificate at Coachmen's Lodge

Queen Jackie	King Jace
Queen Contestants Emily Forte, Jackie Boudreau, Chandler Madison Cross, Michelle Anne Couchon, Ainsley Morisseau Cantoral, Arianna Ciosek

Previous Kings & Queens

Past Kings and Queens of Mardi Gras include Dave Richards '02, Gloria Jean Roy '95,
Diana Glassey '98, Nancy Beauregard '00, Suzanne Beaulieu '01, Lorraine Jacob '02,
Roberta Baillargeon '04, Roger Bouchard '04, Lorraine Guilbault '06, Nancy Phillips '07,
Monique Noel '08, Steve Moreau '09, and Linda Trudeau '10.

Previous Queens and Princesses were in attendance!

2012
Mardi Gras
Committee

Roberta Baillargeon
Sue Beaulieu
*Romeo Berthiaume
Irene Blais
Roger Bonin

Sharon Charette
Lorraine Cloutier
Paul Collette
Sharon Cross
JoAnn Ferschke
Marlene Gagnon
Joan R. Gahan
Wil Godin
*Mariana Hadady
Monique Jean
Connie Lemonde
Clara L’Heureux
Ray Nolan
Paul Plante
Carol Russo
Patrick Ryan
Brenda Viscione-Ryan

ARTICLES

January 6, 2012 • 2012 Mardi Gras Expands to Two Venues: Long-standing Woonsocket tradition builds momentum by Sandy Phaneuf (article from WoonsocketPatch.com)

A SHORT HISTORY OF MARDI GRAS

Many of the traditions of Mardi Gras have their roots in a Roman festival called the Saturnalia which celebrated the end of winter and the coming of spring. Over time, and with the spread of Christianity, the festival became a final binge of feasting and self-indulgence before the sacrifice of Lent. In 17th century Paris, the celebration came to be known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday – a way for Christians to fatten up before the long Lenten season.

French settlers brought their traditions to Louisiana in 1766. By 1857, New Orleans began to develop its own traditions of masked balls, organized parades, and “throws” (favors such as beads, doubloons, and cups thrown from parade floats). In 1872, the King of Mardi Gras selected the celebration’s official colors of purple, green, and gold. The colors’ meanings were defined as justice (purple), faith (green), and power (gold) in 1892.

In 1954, the Mardi Gras tradition was started in Woonsocket by the Junior Chamber of Commerce. The four days of festivities earned the celebration the title of “Mardi Gras of the North.” The Jaycees’ involvement in Mardi Gras gave our king his name – King Jace.

Since 1995, the NRICA and the Mardi Gras Committee, with the invaluable help of our sponsors, have worked hard to bring the authentic feel and the fun of a traditional Mardi Gras celebration to Woonsocket.

(c) 2007- NRICA. Updated February 9, 2012