Mardi Gras 2013
Saturday, February 2nd
5:30 pm - 11:00 pm

MENU (subject to change)

Tossed Salad
Jambalaya Soup
French Bread w Butter
Mixed Vegetables and Assorted Beans
Cajun Oven-Roasted Potatoes
Dirty Rice Creole Pulled Pork
Cajun Roasted Chicken
Bourbon Meatballs
Bourbon Street Pudding
Coffee

Woonsocket Lodge of Elks
380 Social Street, Woonsocket, RI
Live Music by the Jeff Gamache Orchestra (Swing, Disco, Blues, Country, Rock & Roll)
Dave Dean, WNRI, Emcee

CATERED BY RUSSELL MORIN FINE CATERING

MENU (subject to change)

Mixed Greens Salad w Mustard French Dressing
Select Bread Package:  Asiago, Rustic, Par Baked and Seven Grain w Whipped Butter
Jambalaya Seafood Dinner
Cajun Beef Ragout
Whipped Idaho Potatoes Roasted Garlic
Creole Green Beans
Chili Spiced Layer Cake w Praline Frosting
Coffee:  Colombian and Decaf
Tea

King Jace contest sponsored by Dave Richards of WOON Radio

Mardi Gras Children's Celebration

CYO Center

Search Room, 53 Federal Street,Woonsocket, RI
Saturday, February 2, 2013
11 am - 1 pm
Free admission

Includes children's costume party & parade
Entertainment by Linda Trudeau
Prizes for best costume/most original for girls and boys, grades K to 4
Catered by Chef Gary McLaughlin (macaroni and cheese, cookies, popcorn, and beverage)

MARDI GRAS QUEEN CORONATION

The regal event was 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 2nd at the Mardi Gras Celebration, to be held at the Woonsocket Lodge of Elks and St. Ann's Art and Cultural Center in Woonsocket.

This year's contestants:
2013 Mardi Gras Queen   SANDY PAUL resides in North Smithfield and works as a banker for Citizens Financial Group.  She is a regular donor at the R. I. Blood Center and is a volunteer coach for North Smithfield Adult Athletics, coed Soccer, volleyball and softball and can play in all sports except bowling.  She also loves dancing.  Sandy would love to be Mardi Gras Queen and be more involved in the community to make her son, Tyler David Lahousse and her mother, Sandra Hartnett proud of her.
	2013 Mardi Gras Princess   KAYLA GUILBEAULT graduated from  Woonsocket High School in 2004  and  attended CCRI graduating in 2009 with an associates degree in general studies.  Kayla is employed at Landmark Medical Center as an Administrative Assistant in Case Management.  She  is a recent newlywed,  married  to  Nicholas Guilbeault in Aruba last  December, and resides in Woonsocket.  She wants to be involved in community events and finds this contest new and exciting.  One of her favorite pastimes is working out at the gym and spending time with her family and four year old son, Braylon.  She is the daughter of Cheryl Brien and Paul Plante, Jr.
2013 Mardi Gras Princess   JO-ANN MAURICE resides in Woonsocket and is a TSP operator in the receiving department at WDC and employed by CVS for 31 years.  She is also secretary and a member of Club Lafayette in Woonsocket.  Her first job was delivering newspapers for The Woonsocket Call and later became a park supervisor at Bernon Park.  Jo-Ann enjoys camping, cooking and spending time with her granddaughters, Samantha and Tenleigh.  Being a candidate for Mardi Gras Queen has given her an opportunity to help the Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts raise funds to continue this spectacular event in our community.  She is the daughter of the late Albert C. and Helen Menoche and mother of two children, Jennifer and Joseph.
King Jace XIX Crowns Queen Sandy Paul King Jace XIX and the lovely ladies of the court (left to right): Queen Sandy Paul, Princess Kayla Guilbeault, and Princess Jo-Ann Maurice.
	DIANE BESSETTE is a resident of Lincoln and is presently employed by The Woonsocket Call - Pawtucket Times Newspapers.  She is a member of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and is an avid volunteer at Autumnfest.  Among her hobbies are cooking, baking and she loves football and the beach. She has never attended Mardi Gras but enjoys community events and activities.   She was encouraged by her co-worker, Sue MacKenzie, to run in the Mardi Gras Queen Contest to assist the arts and culture in the community.  She is the mother of three sons, Michael, Ronald and Joseph.  She is the daughter of Barbara Honko and also has one sister, Catherine Rose.
SHEYLON LAWSON is a current resident of Providence.  She works for Navigant Credit Union at the Park Square branch in Woonsocket.  She also owns a web-based novelty business by the name of K&G favors specializing in favors for weddings, birthdays, baptism, etc.  She is the mother of four children, Drew Ellis, age 14; Symone,  age 12; Elliott, age 11; and Kenadie Grace, age 2.  She is a very active member of the Shekinah Family Worship Center in Providence with Sandra V. and Dr. Phillip Miller as her Pastors.  She is also an Administrative Assistant for their Pastor Aide Committee Board and plays an active role as their Community Outreach Coordinator that helps youth and the elderly in their community.  Sheylon would like to become Mardi Gras Queen because of her passion to help the community in an eventful way and look beyond the beads.
King Jace XIX and the lovely ladies of the court (left to right): Queen Sandy Paul, Sheylon Lawson, Princess Kayla Guilbeault, Diane Bessette, and Princess Jo-Ann Maurice.

The Queen's Coronation was held at
The Cakery, 91 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI
Sunday, January 27th, 1 pm

Raffle Prizes:

1st Prize: $300 from NRICA

2nd Prize: $200 Gift Card donated by Joan Gahan
3rd: Prize: Stadium Theatre two tickets for each of 3 shows (Winter Dance Party March 16, 2013, One Night of Queen April 20, 2013, and Legally Blonde May 3, 2013)
Fourth Prize:  $50 gift certificate for Uncle Ronnie’s Red Tavern

Previous Kings & Queens

(click on links to see Mardi Gras page from that year)

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.

2013
Mardi Gras
Committee

Roberta Baillargeon
Jackie Boudreau#
Sue Beaulieu
Romeo Berthiaume*
Irene Blais

Sharon Charette
Lorraine Cloutier
Paul Collette
Sharon Cross
JoAnn Ferschke
Marlene Gagnon#
Joan R. Gahan

Sarah Gauvin
Wil Godin
Mariana Hadady
Monique Jean
Connie Lemonde
Clara L’Heureux
*Sue MacKenzie
Ray Nolan
^Paul Plante
Carol Russo


*Committee Co-Chairs
#Queen's Contest Co-Chairs
^Children's Celebration Chair

Our Sponsors

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

281 Harris Avenue, Woonsocket, RI

Woonsocket, RI
BEST OF LUCK THIS YEAR  

175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI


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


New England Regional Office
1300 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI


Club Lafayette
289 Aylsworth Avenue, Woonsocket, RI


Woonsocket Elks Lodge, No. 850 B.P.O.E.
380 Social Street, Woonsocket, RI

Frere Andre ACA
Julien Bessette, President
Division of ARCANUM
171 Front Street, Woonsocket, RI

Raymond Gaboury
Woonsocket, RI


P. O. Box 1, Manville, RI


Italian Workingmen's Club, Inc.
947 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI


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

Milford Federal Savings & Loan
246 Main Street, Milford, MA

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


Navigant Credit Union
1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI


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



Jackie Boudreau (Mardi Gras Queen 2012)
Jewelry by Latasia

Romeo & Diane Berthiame
Uxbridge, MA
Congratulations to the 2013 Mardi Gras Committee

Careau Investment Group
68 Cumberland Street, Woonsocket, RI

Sharon Charette
North Smithfield, RI

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


10 Nate Whipple Highway, Cumberland, RI
2 Complimentary Passes to Foxwoods Resort-Casino

Marlene Gagnon
Cumberland, RI

Clara Holding
"Life's Little Extras"
641 Blackstone Street, Uxbridge, MA

Connie Lemonde
Woonsocket, RI


1500 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI

Carolyn Smith
Cumberland, RI 


Stadium Theatre
28 Monument Square, Woonsocket, RI
Two tickets for A Chorus Line, February 22, 2013
Two tickets for The Sound of Music, March 24, 2013)

Stage Right Studio
68 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI
4 gift certificates for 2 admissions to any show

Sue Tessier MacKenzie
Seasonal Sweets
289 Summer Street, Woonsocket, RI

Therese Tessier, Woonsocket, RI

Diana's Leather & Lace Boutique
98 Canal Street, Blackstone, MA

The Cakery
91 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI

Carmella's Coiffures
643 St. Paul Street, North Smithfield, RI


Cumberland House of Pizza
2360 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI
Compliments of The Lambrou Family

Early Risers Breakfast
175 Eddie Dowling Highway, North Smithfield, RI

Eggs Up Family Restaurant
2378 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI



Excel Beauty Salon
800 Providence Street, Woonsocket, RI


1098 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI

Image Makers Beauty Salon
37 Main Street, Albion, RI


575 Cumberland Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI


Quota Club
243 Fisher Street, Woonsocket, RI


Retired Senior Volunteer Association, Inc.
68 Cumberland Street, Suite 300, Woonsocket, RI

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.