‘Let the good times roll’ this Mardi Gras 

by Sara Wuillermin, Gazette Staff Writer
 

Mardi Gras is a time of indulgence—a way to officially rid oneself of the last bit of decadent indulgence before the reverent period of Lent officially begins.
Many decide to pilgrimage down to New Orleans, home of the nation’s official and biggest celebration of this worldwide phenomenon.
But if you’re unable to attend the festivities down in Louisiana, fret not: there will be plenty of opportunities in the southern New Jersey area to enjoy King Cake, watch an elaborate parade and of course, catch some beads.
What better place to celebrate the end of this festival period than Showboat Resort and Casino, also known as The Mardi Gras Casino? Beginning at 4 p.m. on February 1, the property will begin its five-day celebration.
According to an official press release sent out by Showboat, visitors can expect strolling jesters and stilt walkers, bead tosses, masquerade models and live music.
A spectacular daily live parade complete with a life-size float, will take place on the concourse 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday, February 1; again at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday, February 2; again at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, February 3 and Monday, February 4; and at 11a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Fat Tuesday, February 5.
If you head to the Showboat on February 5, the official date for this year’s Fat Tuesday, make sure to get a piece of the special King Cake that will be available. Beginning at noon Showboat Executive Pastry Chef Deb Pellegrino, her team and students from the Academy of Culinary Arts at ACCC will top the Mardi Gras celebration by attempting to create a 200-foot-round, nearly 1,000 pound King Cake.
According to an official press release received for Show Boat, the pastry team predicts their cake-baking endeavor will take approximately 589 hours of labor. Once complete, the confection will measure 200-feet-long, 63.6-feet-wide and weigh 968 pounds.
Showboat’s culinary team will be slicing the cake for the public immediately following the unveiling and will roughly feed 6,000 people. A large portion of the cake will also be delivered to Sister Jean Webster’s Kitchen later that afternoon.
Families also have the opportunity to celebrate Mardi Gras with their children at the Noyes Museum, located at 733 Lily Lake Road in Oceanville. Nancy Leary, also known as “Apple Annie,” will lead a Mardi Gras mask-making workshop for children and adults in the Lily Lake Studio at the Noyes Museum of Art on Sunday, February 3 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The workshop will teach the ancient art form of “Ebru,” better known as paper marbleizing. The cost, which includes supplies, is $45 for Noyes Museum members and $55 for non-members.
“We like to offer art workshops that explain different traditions and cultures – it makes it even more interesting for the participants, especially the children, to get a little bit of history and background on the subject as they make the actual object. Nancy Leary is a very talented paper artist who has taught workshops for us in the past; so it seemed like a perfect fit for her to use her papermaking techniques to lead a traditional Mardi Gras mask project,” Communications and Development Director Karen DeRosa said.
For more information, visit www.noyesmuseum.org or call 652-8848.
The best way to experience the Mardi Gras flair is to taste its cuisine. Celebrate in culinary style at Creole Café, located at 288 Egg Harbor Road in Sewell, which offers Cajun standards like jambalaya and étoufée and some eclectic fusions such as Cajun linguini and Crawfish scampi.
Head Chef Jeff Gilham, who owns the establishment with wife and Pastry Chef Brenda Gilham, said that they try to keep the menu interesting.
“Along with all the Cajun standards, we also bring in a lot of special items to give our customers the chance to try something new. We have ostrich and alligator on our menu all the time and we recently brought in kangaroo meat as a special,” he said.
Creole Café will be offering its patrons a special three course Mardi Gras menu on February 1 and 2 for $35 a person. Patrons will be able to select from a wide variety for their three courses.
The first course selections include gumbo ya-ya (made with chicken and sausage); artichoke and goat cheese tomato salad; blackened crab cakes with roasted red pepper aioli; southern fried frog legs and whole crawdads.
The entree selection offers the choice of pulled pork, country jambalaya, fried catfish and BBQ sirloin steak and for dessert, expect to see such delicacies as chocolate bourbon pecan pie, keylime pie, beignets, Crème Brule, and a few other selections of the pastry chef’s choosing.
“My wife makes all the dessert herself, so there will also be some more additions to the dessert menu for our Mardi Gras event,” he said.
Both nights will also feature live entertainment.
“We will be having a three-piece band perform for diners which includes a banjo, clarinet and stand-up bass,” Gilham said.
For more information or to make reservations, visit www.creole-cafe.com or call (856) 582-7222.
Young professionals in the area will also have the opportunity to indulge in some Mardi Gras madness during the Mardi Gras Party, sponsored by youngprofessionalevents.com, pulseofphilly.com and Baron Heimbach. The shindig, which promises to have “beads, beads and more beads,” will be held at Triumph Brewing Company, located at 117 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. For more information or to pre-order tickets, visit www.youngprofessionalevents.com.
A favorite spot in Philadelphia for pre-Lent partying is Fat Tuesday’s, located at 431 South Street. The venue, which embraces the New Orleans Mardi Gras style all year will be opening early to allow patrons to begin the celebration all day.
Two DJs will be on-hand, one in the morning and one later at night, and will be offering prizes, giveaways and beads all day and night. The bar/restaurant will be open from 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. (as of press time, the establishment was still unsure) until 2 a.m. For more information call (215) 629-5999 or visit www.fat-tuesday.com.