St.Francis of Assisi’s Annual Mardi Gras Celebration

The 15th Annual St. Francis of Assisi Mardi Gras event was held Saturday, February 10, 2018 at the Leflore County Civic Center. The entertainment was provided by DJ TRAXX CRE8TOR. There was a New Orleans-style buffet with party setups and favors. The event draws a crowd of varied nationalities numbering around 300 to 400 each year . Their ages range from 25 to 80 years of age. This is the largest parish fund raiser of the year with all the proceeds going to help St. Francis School. The greatest percentage of the money raised is used toward tuition assistance for our students.

Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday that dates back thousands of years. There are different traditions for preparing for Lent.  One of the most famous is Carnival, known as Carnaval in some parts of the world. The celebration involves finishing up all the meat before Ash Wednesday  Mardi Gras translates from French as “Fat Tuesday”.

 

The parish committee members along with the Friars and Sisters transformed the Civic Center into a festive space featuring traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.  The amazing arch of balloons marking the main entrance to the ballroom was fashioned by one of our school parents.

 

Sister Elena, Brother Patrick and Sister Kathleen relaxing and enjoying the festivities!

 

Fr. Kim took everything in as this was his first experience of our parish Mardi Gras. He was there for the setting up, decorating and actual celebrating. He fit right into the practice of Southern hospitality by meeting and greeting all of the guests.

 

Two of the St. Francis School cooks headed up the New Orleans style meal and enlisted the help of some of their friends in the preparations and service. Yes, this bevy of beauties made a brief appearance out on the dance floor after the meal!

 

The colors for Mardi Gras date back to 1872. Purple represents justice, green represents faith; and gold represents power.